AMERICAN HISTORY 

GOVERNMENT and INSTITUTIONS 





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American History 

Government and Institutions 



A MANUAL OF CITIZENSHIP 

FOR 

YOUNG AMERICANS AND NEW AMERICANS 

BY 

DANIEL HOWARD, A. M., 

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Superintendent of Schools for Windsor Locks and Suffield, Connecticut; 
Member Board Directors of Lincoln Institute. 




THE JOURNAL PRESS. 

Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 

1908 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cocie? Reci'ived 

DEC 7 1908 

CLASS Ov KXc. Ku. 



Copyright 1908, by Daniel Howard. 



PREFACE. 

This book has been written by request. The needs of the 
immigrant population of Windsor Locks first led the writer 
to consider what could be done to help them. Prof. Alberto 
Pecorini, of the American International College of Spring- 
field, Mass., next approached him with an urgent solicitation 
to prepare such a book as has been attempted. Several 
prominent educators expressed the need that they felt for 
something of this sort. 

The work has been undertaken and carried out in the 
hope that it would be useful in inspiring a love for and some 
knowledge of American history, government, and institu- 
tions. It aims to be merely an elementary manual ex- 
pressed in simple language. It is hoped that it may prove 
of use to a multitude of new citizens to whom America is 
the home of their adoption, as well as find a welcome in 
the hands of many of our native born youth who may desire 
something elementary and concise pertaining to the sub- 
jects of which it treats. 

It is submitted to the public in the hope that it may 
justify its existence and have an honorable part in helping 
to supply the need that caused it to be written. 

DANIEL HOWARD. 

Windsor Locks, Conn., Aug. 31. 1908. 



CONTENTS. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 

SECTIONS 

Era of Discovery and Exploration, - - 1-19 

Era of Colonization, . . . . . 20-32 

Life in the Colonies, ----- 33-42 

French and Indian War, ----- 43-48 

Revolutionary War, ----- 49-63 

Era of Federation, ------ B4-74 

Civil War, ------- 75-91 

Era of Expansion, 92-105 

AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY. 

Map of America, . . - - - 106 

Acquisition of Territory, - . - - 107-117 

Map of the United States, - - - 118-126 

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. 

General Outline and Legislative Department, 127-144 

Executive Department, - . . - 145-156 

Judicial Department, - - . - 157-162 

State Government, 163-176 

Municipal Government, - . - . 177-186 

Political Parties, - 187-196 

AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. 

(Between 196 and 197.) 
George Washington. 
Benjamin Franklin. 
Thomas Jefferson. 
Abraham Lincoln, 
Ulysses S. Grant. 
William McKinley. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP. 

Laws and Courts, 197-215 

Business Methods, 216-225 

Naturalization, 226-229 

AMERICAN LIFE. 

Education, ...... 230-237 

Religion, - - 238-242 

Law and Order, . . . _ . 243 

Opportunities for Work, . . . . 244-245 

How to be Useful and Respected Citizens, - 246 



THE ERA OF DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATIONS. 

1. Knowledge in the 15th Century. America was dis- 
covered in the year 1492. Fifty years before that time the 
people of Europe knew very little about any people except 
themselves. They knew something about the countries of 
Northern Africa because those countries bordered on the 
Mediterranean Sea and were easy for them to visit in their 
boats. They also knew something about India, and Euro- 
pean traders purchased many goods that were brought to 
them from that country. 

Marco Polo, a traveler from Venice, had spent many 
years in Asia and in 1295 he had returned to Europe with 
wonderful stories about the countries he had visited. This 
was all they knew about the world. No ships then crossed 
the Atlantic Ocean and no man in Europe knew that 
America existed. 

How did Europeans happen to discover this new coun- 
try? They did it by trying to find a new route to India. 

2. Trade with India. Before the year 1453 there were 
tw^o routes used by the traders. The merchants of Genoa 
used one. Their ships went to Constantinople, where they 
met caravans that had come overland from the Persian 
Gulf. These caravans brought silks, spices, perfumes, 
pearls, and precious stones received from India and near by 
countries. 

Venice used the other route. Her vessels went to Cairo 
and Alexandria, where they met traders who brought them 

1. What did Europeans know about the world in the 
15th century? 

2. What kind of trade was carried on between 
Europe and India? What routes were used? What hap- 
pened in 1453? How did this affect trade? What did the 
King of Portugal try to do ? 



10 AMERICAN HISTORY 

goods received from India by way of the Red Sea and the 
waters beyond. 

In 1453 the Turks from Asia captured the city of Con- 
stantinople. The Turks were enemies of the Christians and 
they would not let the ships of Genoa come to their city to 
trade with the caravans. So the trade of Genoa was ruined. 
The Turks continued to move toward the Red Sea and 
Venice feared that in a few years her route would be in the 
hands of the Turks and her trade would be ruined. The 
people of Europe knew that they must stop trading with 
India or find a new route to that country. 

The King of Portugal thought that ships could go 
around Africa and reach India in that way. He did not 
think Africa as large as it really is, and when his sailors 
went a long distance down the coast without coming to the 
end they were frightened and discouraged and returned 
home. They feared they never could reach India in that 
way, and even if they could they thought the route would 
be too long. Could anybody find a shorter way? 

3. Columbus. Christopher Columbus said he believed 
he could find a shorter way to India by sailing west across 
the Atlantic ocean. Nearly everybody thought this a foolish 
thing to say. There were a few learned men in Europe 
who believed the earth to be round like a ball. Columbus 
had studied geography, and he, too, believed the earth to be 
round. 

3. What did Christopher Columbus say about the 
way to reach India? Did the people think he was right? 
What did he do to get aid for a voyage? Describe the 
voyage. What did he discover? In what year? Where 
did he make a settlement? What happened on his return 
to Spain? What did Columbus do after that? What can 
vou sav of his last davs ? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 11 

If it was round he was sure a ship could sail around it 
and reach countries on the other side of it. So he felt sure 
that he could find India in that way. He was a sailor and 
had made many voyages and he was not afraid to sail upon 
the great ocean where no ship had ever sailed before. 

But he was a poor man. He had no money and no ships. 
He asked the people of his city, Genoa, to help him, but 
they thought he was crazy. Then he went to Portugal to 
get help from the king. The king would do nothing for 
him. He next went to Spain and for eight years tried to 
get help from the king and queen. The learned men laughed 
at him and the king and queen could not be interested be- 
cause they were too busy with their war against the Moors, 
who lived in their country. At last the war was over and 
they had more time to listen to Columbus, but he could not 
persuade them to help him. He was discouraged and started 
to go to France. Soon some of his friends sent for him to 
come back. They had persuaded Queen Isabella to give 
him help. Some friends in Palos also lent him money and 
soon he had three small ships ready to sail. He had much 
trouble to find sailors brave enough to go with him. At 
last ninety sailors and thirty adventurers and priests agreed 
to go. 

They sailed from Palos, Spain, on August 3, 1492. When 
they sailed for weeks and saw no land the sailors were 
afraid. They thought they should never see home again. 
Columbus encouraged them to go on and on until the morn- 
ing of October 12, when they reached an island. How happy 
they were ! Columbus and many of his men went ashore. 
Kneeling he kissed the ground while tears of joy ran down 
his cheeks. Then he raised a cross and the royal banner of 
Spain and took possession of the land in the name of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella. The island was one of the Bahamas. 



12 AMERICAN HISTORY 

He named it San Salvador. He thought that he had reached 
India. So he called the people Indians. For three months 
he explored the waters near San Salvador, discovering many- 
islands. The largest of these were Cuba and Hayti. Every- 
where he went he asked for spices, gold, and precious 
stones, but all he could find was a few gold trinkets worn 
by the natives in their noses. These they gladly gave to 
the Spaniards in exchange for beads and bells. 

In January, 1493, Columbus left about forty of his men 
on the island of Hayti and started back for Spain. The 
people were wild with joy when they heard of his discovery. 
Everywhere he went bells were rung and crowds of people 
gathered to see him. The king and queen listened to his 
story, saw the gold, the strange birds and new plants, and 
the nine Indians that he had brought with him, and then 
fell on their knees and thanked God for what Columbus had 
(lone for their kingdom. They at once claimed all the lands 
that had been discovered. 

Columbus made three other voyages, discovered more 
islands and the coast of South America, and returned to 
Spain, where he died in 1506. His last days were full of 
sorrow. Queen Isabella, who had been his friend, was dead, 
and King Ferdinand, disappointed because Columbus had 
not found rich mines of gold, treated him meanly and let 
him die in poverty and neglect. What a shame that the 
man who had found a new world for Spain should be left 
by her selfish king to suffer in his old age ! 

4. Spanish Adventurers. Though Columbus had not 
discovered gold mines, the pfeople of Spain believed they 
could find them and many sailed to the New World hoping 

4. What was done by Spanish adventurers? What 
<lid Balboa do? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 13 

to become rich quickly. The large islands, Hayti, Cuba, 
Porto Rico, and some others, were soon settled by these 
adventurers. 

From the islands they soon went to the mainland. 
Balboa went from Hayti to the Isthmus of Panama in 
search of gold. The Indians told him that there was a great 
sea to the south and that rivers flowed into this sea over 
beds of gold. He started with a band of Spaniards and 
some Indian guides to find it. After traveling many days 
he reached the shore of a great ocean. Wading into the 
water with a sword in one hand and a flag in the other, he 
declared that this ocean and all the land upon its shores 
belonged to the King of Spain. This was in the year 1513. 
He named the new ocean the South Sea, but it is now called 
the Pacific Ocean. 

5. Ponce de Leon. In the year 1513 another Spanish 
adventurer went to the mainland from Porto Rico. He had 
been governor of that island, but was not successful and 
the king removed him from office. Then an Indian told him 
that toward the north was a land where he could find much 
gold and a fountain that would make him young again if 
he bathed in its waters. He sailed with three ships. He 
searched many islands for gold and the fountain, but could 
not find them. Then he discovered a land bright with 
flowers and sailed along its shore. He named it Florida 
and sailed back to Porto Rico. 

In 1521 he went to Florida again in order to make his 
home there. This time he had a fight with the Indians and 
was so badly wounded that he died. 

5. What discovery was made by Ponce de Leon? 
What happened to him on a second visit to the land he had 
discovered? 



U AMERICAN HISTORY 

6. De Narvaez. In 1528 another Spaniard named De 
Narvaez started with 400 men to explore Florida. The 
Spaniards had already conquered Mexico and found gold 
there and they hoped to find more in the land of flowers. 
They found nothing but swamps, the huts of savages, un- 
friendly Indians, and sickness. Only four of them lived to 
tell the story to their friends in Mexico. 

7. De Soto. In 1539 another company sailed for 
Florida. Their leader was De Soto. He had six hundred 
men, two hundred horses, a herd of hogs for food, and blood- 
hounds to hunt the Indians. When he asked for gold the 
Indians told him it was just ahead. He went on and on, 
stealing from the Indians, fighting with them and burning 
their villages. Many died from fever and want of food. In 
1541 they came to a great river. They had discovered the 
Mississippi, "The Father of Waters." A few months later 
De Soto died and was buried in the river that he had dis- 
covered. The rest of his party wandered about for a while 
and then sailed down the Mississippi and joined their 
friends in Mexico. 

8. Explorations on the Pacific. The natives in Mexico 
told the Spaniards that their gold came from a land to the 
northwest. The Spaniards tried hard to find it. In 1542 
Cabrillo sailed to the coast of California, where he died. 
Some of his sailors went farther north, but found no gold. 

9. Coronado. Some Indians told the Spaniards about 
their rich villages to the north of Mexico. In 1540 Coronado 

6. What was done by De Narvaez? 

7. Describe De Soto's expedition. What did he dis- 



cover 



What led to explorations on the Pacific? 
9. What was done by Coronado? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 15 

with a large company of men started to find these rich 
towns which they called the "Seven cities of Cibola." They 
traveled hundreds of miles. In New Mexico they found 
large Indian villages, but no cities and no gold. They dis- 
covered the Colorado River and explored the country to 
Kansas and Nebraska. The Spaniards had explored a large 
part of what is now the United States, but they had not 
yet made a settlement north of Mexico. 

English Explorers. 

10. The Cabots. As soon as the other great nations 
of Europe heard of the discoveries that Columbus had made 
for Spain they, too, wanted to make discoveries. England 
sent John Cabot on a voyage in 1497. His purpose was to 
find the way to India, which Columbus had failed to find. 
He thought he could sail north of America and get to India 
in that way. So he tried to find a northwest passage to 
Asia. 

He landed somewhere near the coast of Labrador and 
saw the mainland before it was seen by any of the 
Spaniards. He could not find the northwest passage and 
he soon sailed back to England. 

The next year his son Sebastian sailed to America. His 
landing place was near Nova Scotia. From there he sailed 
south and explored the coast as far as Chesapeake Bay. 
These two voyages gave England her claim to the main 
part of North America. 

11. Sir Francis Drake. In 1577 Sir Francis Drake 
sailed from England to rob the Spanish settlements and 
ships. He sailed around South America and went as far 

10. Describe the explorations of the Cabots. What 
did England gain by them? 

11. What was done by Sir Francis Drake? 



16 AMERICAN HISTORY 

north as Oregon. He landed near San Francisco, named 
the country New Albion, and claimed it for the King of 
England. Then he crossed the Pacific Ocean and went 
around Africa to England. 

French Explorers. 

12. French Fishermen. When the Cabots returned to 
England they reported that they had seen many codfish in 
the waters near Newfoundland. Fishermen on the coast 
of France heard of this report and they sailed across the 
ocean to find these new fishing places. While making these 
voyages they discovered an island and named it Cape 
Breton. One of these fishermen also discovered and ex- 
plored the Gulf of St. Lawrence about 1506. 

13. Verrazano. A few years later King Francis I be- 
gan to make explorations of the new world. He thought 
that a part of America ought to belong to France and he 
wanted to trade with India. In 1524 he sent Verrazano. an 
Italian sailor, to make explorations and find a route to India. 
Verrazano sailed to the coast of North Carolina and then 
followed the coast as far as New England. When he went 
home the French claimed all the land he had seen. 

14. Cartier. Ten years later the French sailed again. 
Jacques Cartier was their leader. In 1534 he entered the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, landed, and claimed the country for 
his king. The next year he sailed up the St. Lawrence as 

12. What caused the first Frenchmen to come to the 
new world? What did they discover? 

13. What was done by Verrazano? What did France 
claim? 

14. What did Cartier explore? What city and county 
did he name? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 17 

far as an Indian village near a high hill. He climbed this 
hill and named it Montreal (Royal Mountain), calling the 
whole country New France. 

15. The Huguenots in Florida. In 1562 a company of 
Frenchmen left their home because a religious war was 
going on in France, and they wanted to find a new home 
where they could have peace. They crossed the ocean and 
landed on the coast of Florida. This did not please them 
and they sailed north to a place that they named Port Royal. 
Here they built a small fort. Then their leader, Jean 
Ribault, sailed back to France. These men were an idle 
company. For .a while the Indians fed them. When the 
Indians would feed them no more they built a ship and 
sailed for France. They had so little food that they would 
have starved if an English ship had not found them and 
taken them home. 

The next year another company of Frenchmen, under 
Laudonniere, went to Florida and built a fort near the St. 
Johns River. This was on land discovered by the Spanish 
and the King of Spain sent a company under a leader named 
Menendez to drive the French away. Menendez captured 
the fort and cruelly murdered men, women and children. 

16. First Settlements in Canada. Fish and furs attracted 
the French to the north. In 1604 the first settlement in 
Canada was made at a place called Port Royal. Four years 
later (1608) a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain 
built a fort at Quebec in order to buy furs of the Indians. 

Quebec soon became a very important town. Its fur 
trade brought wealth to the French and its position on the 

15. What caused some Frenchmen to go to Florida? 
What did they do there ? 

16. What caused the French to settle Canada? 



18 AMERICAN HISTORY 

St. Lawrence River made it easy to send out exploring par- 
ties and missionaries to the Indians. The French priests 
were very eager to make friends with the Indians and to 
teach them Christianity. 

17. Champlain's Mistake. The Indians around Quebec 
were called Hurons. They were having a war with the 
Iroquoig. who lived in what is now the state of New York. 
Champlain went with the Hurons and helped them fight. 
He shot some of the Iroquois with his gvin. The Indians 
had never before seen or heard a gun and they were terribly 
frightened. The Hurons won the fight, but the Iroquois 
were always the enemies of Champlain and the French. 
They would not let the French trade or settle in their 
countrv and they fought against them many times. 

18. Marquette and Joliet. The French would have 
moved up the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes if the 
Iroquois had been their friends, but because they were 
enemies they went up the Ottawa River and then across to 
Lake Huron. Here they built trading-stations and mission 
houses. The Indians told them about a great river to the 
west and the governor of New France, as the French called 
Canada, sent a priest named Pierre Marquette and an ex- 
plorer named Louis Joliet to find the river. With a few 
friends and some Indians they started from Lake Michigan 
in two canoes on a long and dangerous journey. They car- 
ried their canoes through the swamps to the Wisconsin 
River and then floated down it to the Mississippi. They 
explored the Mississippi for several days and then went 
back to their friends in Canada. 



17. What was Champlain's mistake? 

18. How did Champlain's mistake change French 
iilans? What was done by Marquette and Joliet? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 19 

19. La Salle. Five years later (in 1678) Robert de la 
Salle left Canada to finish the exploration of the Mississippi. 
His explorations lasted three years. He went down the 
river to the Gulf of Mexico and took possession of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley in the name of France. He named the valley 
Louisiana. 

The French also claimed the valley of the Ohio River 
and all other rivers that flowed into the Mississippi. They 
began at once to build forts to protect the valley that they 
had explored. La Salle attempted to make a settlement at 
the mouth of the Mississippi, but w'as not successful. 

19. What did LaSalle explore? What did he name? 
What did the French do as a result? 



ERA OF COLONIZATION. 

Spanish Settlements 

20. St. Augustine. Spain made the first settlements in 
the United States. In 1565, when Menendez went from 
Spain to Florida to drive out the French, he built a fort 
which he named St. Augustine. This fort grew to be a 
town and is the oldest settlement north of Mexico. Seven- 
teen years later the Spaniards made another settlement at 
Santa Fe, in New Mexico. They soon made many more 
settlements and mission-stations in that part of the United 
States which is north of Mexico. Spain owned Mexico at 
that time and she called these new settlements a part of 
that country. 

English Settlements. 

21. Walter Raleigh. A few years after the Spanish 
settled Florida the English tried to make a settlement in 
America. Queen Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh per- 
mission to settle a colony anywhere he wished on the coast 
of America, provided no other Europeans were there before 
he was. 

He sent out an exploring party in 1584. This party 
visited Roanoke Island, near the coast of North Carolina. 
When they went back to England the queen was delighted 

— ■ 1 , 

20. Describe the settlement of St. Augustine. What 
other settlements were made by Spaniards? 

21. What did Walter Raleigh try to do? Describe his 
first colony. His second. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 21 

with their description of the land they had seen and she 
named it Virginia. 

The next year Raleigh sent 108 men to settle on Roanoke 
Island. Instead of cultivating the soil and raising crops 
these men spent their time hunting for gold and silver and 
they almost starved to death. Sir Francis Drake was mak- 
ing a voyage to America and when he stopped at the island 
the settlers all went on board his ship and he carried them 
back to England. 

Two years later Raleigh sent over another colony of 
men and their families. They settled on the same Roanoke 
Island. Their leader, Governor White, soon went back to 
England to get supplies for them. A war was going on 
between England and Spain and he and his ships were 
needed at home. 

It was three years before he could sail back to Roanoke. 
When he reached there his settlers were gone. Nobody 
knows what became of them. Perhaps they went away 
and starved, or it may be that the Indians killed them. 
Raleigh spent a fortune trying to find his lost colony, but 
could learn nothing. 

22. The Two Virginia Companies. All the Atlantic 
coast from Maine to Florida was named Virginia by Queen 
Elizabeth. In 1606 King James I gave two companies 
permission to make settlements on this coast. The south- 
ern part of the coast could be settled by a company of mer- 
chants whose home was in London. The northern part of 
the coast could be settled by a company of merchants who 
lived in Plymouth. The king promised that settlers should 
have the same rights and privileges in America that 
Englishmen had at home. 

22. How large was Virginia? What two companies 
were formed to settle it? What did the King promise them? 



22 AMERICAN HISTORY 



23. The Jamestown Colony. The London company 
started first. Three ships sailed to Virginia and entered 
Chesapeake Bay in the spring of 1607. The colonists found 
a river which they named James River, in honor of their 
king. Then they sailed up this river about thirty miles and 
made a settlement which they named Jamestown. 

Before summer was past half of the men died of a fever. 
John Smith, their leader, saved the rest. He punished those 
who would not work and made them build huts to live in. 
He helped them to get food from the Indians. 

Two years later 500 new settlers from England came 
over to Jamestown. They were a worthless lot of idlers 
and criminals and did not want to work. They had little 
food and starvation and sickness soon wore them out. That 
winter was called the "starving time." In six months only 
sixty were alive. Then three ships loaded with men and 
supplies arrived and saved the rest. 

The next year their governor, Sir Thomas Dale, made 
a new rule to encourage them to raise crops. Before Dale 
came it was the rule that no one should have any land of 
his own. They were all asked to work together and put 
what they raised into one common storehouse. Then all 
shared alike and each was to receive his share as he needed 
it. It was a foolish rule, because the lazy would noi work 
and those who did work had to feed the idlers. Governor 
Dale gave every man some land and each one worked on 
his own lot and raised crops for himself. Now they had 



23. Describe the settlement of Jamestown. In what 
year was it made? What was the "starving time"? Did 
the people work well at first? Why was this? What made 
them work harder? What did they raise? What great 
change was made in 1619? What helped the settlers to 
have better homes? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 23 

better times and the colony began to prosper. They raised 
a great deal of tobacco and sent it to England. Many 
English farmers came to Jamestown and other places on 
the James River in order to get land and raise tobacco. 
Other men came to get work. By 1619 there were 4,000 
people in Virginia living in eleven settlements. 

In that year a great change was made in the government. 
Some of the governors had treated their people cruelly and 
none of the governors had let them vote or make their own 
laws. Now the London Company sent over a new governor 
named Yeardley and told him to let the settlers help make 
their own laws. Governor Yeardley asked the people to 
elect two men from each settlement. The eleven settle- 
ments elected twenty-two men and sent them to Jamestown 
to make laws, punish lawbreakers, and manage their affairs. 
These men were called burgesses, a name which meant rep- 
resentatives of the settlements or towns. They met in the 
church on Julv 30, 1619. The governor and his council, or 
men who advised him, met with the burgesses. This House 
of Burgesses was the first body of law-makers in the new 
world. 

Virginia was now a better place to live in. Many new 
settlers came from England. Most of them were men. The 
London Company soon sent over a large number of young 
women to become their wives. After this they had better 
homes and happy families. 

24. New England. In the same year that the London 
Company sent its first colonists to Jamestown, the Ply- 
mouth Company sent a colony of 120 people to the Ken- 
nebec River, in New England. The country was so cold 



24. Where did the English first try to make a settle- 
ment in New England? What was the result? 



24 AMERICAN HISTORY 



and wild that more than half these men went back to Eng- 
land on the same ships that brought them over. Forty-five 
men built huts and stayed through the winter. They almost 
froze to death and when some ships came from England 
they all went on board and sailed for home. The Plymouth 
Company was a failure. 

25. Plymouth. Twelve years later another colony 
came to New England by accident. In England at that 
time there were some people who hated the ceremonies of 
the English Church so much that they would not attend 
service in that church. They formed a separate church of 
their own and appointed their own minister. For this 
reason they were called "Separatists." 

The king punished them for trying to form a separate 
church and they fled from England to Holland, where they 
lived twelve years. Because of their travels they were 
called "Pilgrims." In Holland their children were learning 
the Dutch language and they were afraid that when they 
grew up they would marry among the Dutch. They did not 
wish this. They wanted to be Englishmen, so the/ decided 
to go to America and settle on land owned by England. 
They thought that in America nobody would trouble them 
and they could have the kind of church they wanted. 

The London Company gave them permission to settle 
in \^irginia and some English merchants lent them money. 
In 1620 about one hundred of them crossed the ocean in a 
ship named the "Mayflower." A storm drove them far to 
the north of Virginia and when they saw land they were 
near the shores of Cape Cod, which belonged to the Ply- 

25. Describe the "Separatists". What other name did 
they have? Why did they come to America? Where did 
they land? What settlement did they make? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 25 

mouth Company. They spent a month exploring the coast 
for a good place to settle. 

On December 21, 1620, they landed and began their 
settlement. They named it Plymouth because they had 
sailed from Plymouth in England. There is a story which 
says that when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth they all 
stepped from their boat upon a rock on the shore. For this 
reason Plymouth Rock is very famous in our history. 

The next year, 1621, the Plymouth Company disbanded 
and a new company called the Council for New England 
took its place. The new company gave the Pilgrims large 
tracts of land and they soon had comfortable log homes 
and a church. 

26, The Puritans. Another group of people in Eng- 
land were called Puritans. They did not like the ceremonies 
of the English Church, but they thought they could purify 
or reform the church. The king punished them and many 
of them decided to go to America as the Pilgrims had done. 

In 1628 they bought a tract of land from the Council for 
New England and John Endicott and sixty others made the 
first settlement upon it at Salem. The next year the Puri- 
tans obtained from the king a charter which gave them the 
right to govern themselves and make such laws as they 
wished, provided these were not contrary to the laws of 
England. 

Several hundred Puritans came over in 1630 and settled 
Boston. Boston and the settlements near it were called 
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During the next ten years 
twenty thousand English emigrants came to New England 

26. Who were the "Puritans"? What settlement did 
they make? Why did some of them move to the Con- 
necticut Valley? What great thing was done at Hartford 
in 1639? 



26 AMERICAN HISTORY 

and settled. Some of these went north to the coast of 
Maine and New Hampshire. Others went farther south. 

In 1633 a few men in a boat went from Plymouth to the 
Connecticut Valley and built a house at Windsor for trad- 
ing with the Indians. They found rich farming land in the 
Connecticut Valley and in the next three years many people 
came from Massachusetts and settled at Windsor, Wethers- 
field, and Hartford. 

Rich farming land was not the onlv thing that made 
these emigrants settle in Connecticut. The Puritans would 
not let them vote in ^Massachusetts unless they were church 
members. They did not think this was right and after they 
were settled in Connecticut their minister, Thomas Hooker, 
helped them to make a written constitution which said all 
freemen should have the right to vote. 

This was the first written constitution made in America. 
It was made at Hartford in 1639 and Hartford is sometimes 
called the birthplace of our American form of government. 

In 1638 a number of Puritans had come from England 
and made another important settlement in Connecticut. 
They named their settlement New Haven. 

27. Roger Williams. Roger Williams was another 
Massachusetts minister who said the Puritan church did 
not give men freedom enough. The Puritans punished 
those who did not like their preaching, or who stayed at 
home from church service. Roger Williams said this was 
wrong. He said, too, that it was wrong for the king to give 
the white men land that belonged to the Indians. 

The Puritans said they would send Roger Williams back 

27. What did Roger Williams say about the Puritans 
and freedom? What settlement did he make? What did 
his colony do that had never been done before? 



AMERICAN HISTORY ' 27 

to England, but he ran away and went to Rhode Island. 
An Indian chief sold him some land and he and his friends 
began a settlement which they named Providence. This 
was the beginning of the Rhode Island colony in 1636. 

In this colony every honest man was welcomed, no mat- 
ter what his religion was. It was the first colony to grant 
religious freedom to everybody, and many people who had 
been punished for their religious beliefs were glad to settle 
in Rhode Island. 

28. New York. People from Holland settled one 
colony. That was New York. In 1609 Henry Hudson, a 
Dutch trader, discovered the Hudson River and began to 
trade with the Indians. About 1613 Dutch fur traders built 
some houses on Manhattan Island. That was the beginning 
of the great city of New York, to-day the largest city in 
America. Dutch traders and farmers soon made many 
settlements on the Hudson River between New York and 
Albany. 

29. Maryland. In England Catholics were made to pay 
fines because they did not attend the English Church. One 
of their leaders, named Lord Baltimore, wanted to make 
a home for them in America, where they could have their 
own church and not be punished for it. He asked the king 
for a charter giving him the right to make settlements on 
both sides of Chesapeake Bay. He named this land Mary- 
land. 

Lord Baltimore died, but his sons carried out his plans. 
In 1634 they bought an Indian village in Maryland and 
made a settlement which they named St. Mary's. 

28. What people settled New York? Why? 

29. Who settled Maryland? Why? What was the 
Toleration Act? 



28 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Maryland was a new kind of colony. Lord Baltimore's 
family appointed the governors and the judges. The people 
elected the lawmakers in the same way that the people 
elected burgesses in Virginia. 

They passed a law called the Toleration Act. Thi.s law 
said that all Christians, whether they were Catholics or 
Protestants, should be treated alike. 

30. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was settled by the 
Quakers. These i)eople loved peace and wanted to be 
friendly to all men. They did not like the Church of Eng- 
land ; so the English punished them and treated them 
cruelly. Thev decided to come to America. 

The king owed a large sum of money to one of these 
Quakers, named William Penn. Penn asked the king to 
give him some land instead of the money. The king gave 
him about forty thousand square miles of land in America. 
Here Penn began the city of Philadelphia in 1681. He in- 
vited the Quakers to come and live in his colony. He also 
let other people come and if they believed in God they could 
worship as they pleased. 

He and his people made a law called the Great Law, 
which said every man could vote or hold office if he be- 
lieved in Christ. Settlers came from England, Germany, 
Holland; France, and Sweden. 

Everybody liked William Penn and his colony grew 
very rapidly. He treated the Indians like brothers and they 
were always his friends. 

He and his family appointed the governors, but the 
people elected the law-makers. 



30. Who settled Pennsylvania? Why? How did they 
treat the Indians? How were officers chosen? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 29 

31. Other Colonies. All along the Atlantic coast other 
settlements were made. Some of them were made by emi- 
grants from Europe. Others were made by men who left 
the first settlements to get new land or to find new homes 
that suited them better. 

Emigrants from Sweden settled Delaware. The Dutch 
in New York claimed this land and made the Swedes give 
it to them. Then the English took it away from the Dutch. 
Finally William Penn bought it of the English and made 
it a part of Pennsylvania. The people of Delaware did not 
like the union; so Penn let them elect law-makers of their 
own. 

New Jersey was first settled by Dutch fur traders from 
New York. Then other settlers came from England and 
Connecticut. 

North Carolina was first settled by people from Vir- 
ginia. Then many Germans, Scotchmen and Irishmen set- 
tled along the coast. Some of these people were seeking 
religious freedom, some, land and new homes, others, trade 
with the Indians. 

The first settlement in South Carolina was made by 
emigrants who came from England. A few Germans and 
Scotchmen joined them. There were also many French 
who settled in the colony. 

King Charles II gave both the Carolinas to eight of his 
friends, who were to be called the proprietors, or owners, 
and appoint the governors. The people did not like the 
proprietors nor their governors and they had many quarrels 
and much trouble. Finally the proprietors sold their rights 
back to the king, who then appointed the governors. 

31. Tell the early history of Delaware. Of New 
Jersey. Of North Carolina. Of South Carolina. Of 
Georgia. 



30 AMERICAN HISTORY 

The last of all the colonies on the Atlantic was Georgia. 
It was settled in 1733. This colony was different from all 
the rest. It was settled for two reasons. 

The first was to make a home for poor debtors. In Eng- 
land, at that time, there was a law that an honest poor man 
could be put in prison for a debt of a dollar or less and kept 
there a long time, while his family suffered and his health 
was ruined. General George Oglethorpe pitied these poor 
debtors and got permission from the king to send them to 
America and to make homes for them. They were glad to 
be carried across the ocean free and to have free land and 
free tools in Oglethorpe's colony. He named it Georgia in 
honor of King George II. 

The second reason for making a settlement in Georgia 
was to protect the English colonists against the Spaniards 
in Florida. The Spaniards were trying to drive away the 
settlers in South Carolina. Oglethorpe meant to make the 
Spaniards stay in Florida and to punish them if they made 
any trouble for the English. 

32. Moving Inland, The whole Atlantic coast was 
now settled. These settlers did not know much about the 
rest of the country, but many of them thought they owned 
all that was west of them to the Pacific Ocean. The King 
of England had given the London Company the right to 
settle from "sea to sea" ; so Virginia claimed all the land to 
the west. Massachusetts and Connecticut also had charters 
that gave them the right to settle from "sea to sea," but 
New York and Pennsylvania were west of these colonies ; 
so Massachusetts and Connecticut had to give up part of 
their land to the Dutch and Quakers. 

The French in the Mississippi Valley were also west of 

32. What caused the settlers to move inland? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 31 

the English colonies ; so it was sure that there would be 
wars to see who should have the land. The settlers on the 
coast began to move farther and farther inland to find new 
homes for their families. When a new group of settlers 
went farther into the new country it was called ''going out 
West." 

Settlements in the new world grew rapidly. In 1700 
the population of the Atlantic colonies was a little more 
than a quarter of a million. Fifty years later the number 
was more than a million and a quarter. 



LIFE IN THE COLONIES. 

33. Indian Wars. Many of the colonists had trouble 
with the Indians and had to fight for their lives and their 
homes. The Indians lived partly by raising corn, beans, 
squashes, and other vegetables, but they got most of their 
food by hunting and fishing. When the white people set- 
tled on their hunting grounds and their corn land many of 
them were jealous and wanted to kill the settlers. 

In Virginia at first the Indians were friendly to the set- 
tlers and sold them food. Then one of the Indian chiefs 
thought the whites were taking too much land for their 
settlements and he planned to kill them all. 

In 1622 the Indians suddenly murdered 347 men, women 
and children in a single day. The settlers made war on the 
Indians and destroyed many of their villages and warriors. 

In 1644 the Indians again tried to murder the white men 
and killed 500 persons. This time the settlers drove them 
into the forest far from the English settlements. 

In Connecticut, a tribe of Indians called the Pequots 
tried to destroy the first settlers. Ninety men from Hart- 
ford, Wethersfield. and Windsor marched to their village 
and destroyed nearly all the tribe. 

The worst of the Indian troubles was King Philip's War. 
King Philip was chief of a Rhode Island tribe. He per- 



33. How did the Indians live? What caused trouble 
between them and the white men? How did the Indians 
treat the settlers in Virginia? In Connecticut? Tell about 
King Philip's War. In what colonies did the Indians look 
upon the white people as their friends? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 33 

suaded nearly all the New England Indians to make war on 
the settlers. There was terrible fighting in the Plymouth 
Colony and in the Connecticut Valley. Twelve settlements 
were destroyed and more than a thousand settlers were 
killed. So many of the Indians were slain that they never 
again made war on the New England settlers. 

Some of the Indians treated the white people as friends. 
They were kind to Roger Williams in Rhode Island and to 
the first settlers in Maryland. In Pennsylvania, too, Wil- 
liam Penn had peace with the Indians. He paid them for 
their land, made them presents, and treated them like 
brothers. They in turn were friendly to the Quakers as 
long as Penn lived and for years afterward. In most of 
the other colonies the early settlers kept their guns close at 
hand for fear of Indian attacks. 

34. Occupations. In New England most of the people 
who lived on the sea-coast were engaged in fishing, building 
ships, and trading with the West Indies. Their ships car- 
ried horses, oxen, meat, and fish to the West Indies and 
brought back sugar and molasses. Some of their ships 
went to Africa for slaves and sold them to farmers in the 
Southern Colonies. 

Most of the people who lived inland were farmers. They 
planted corn, potatoes, and garden vegetables, and also 
raised many horses and cattle. 

Every family had a loom and the women wove cloth 
from flax raised on the farm or from wool brought from 
England or cut from the backs of their own sheep. In all 
the colonies the women also spun their own yarn and thread. 

34. What occupations did the people follow in New 
England? In New York? In the Middle Colonies? In the 
Southern Colonies ? 



34 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Most of the people of New York were traders. They 
(lid a good business in furs, lumber, and flour. 

The people of the Middle Colonies were farmers. They 
also did much trading at Philadelphia, which was then the 
most important city in the country. All the Southern Colo- 
nies except South Carolina raised and sold tobacco. In 
South Carolina rice was the main crop. 

35. Slavery. In 1619 a Dutch ship brought twenty 
negroes from Africa and sold them to the farmers of Vir- 
ginia for slaves. They were so profitable that more were 
soon brought to America and sold in all the colonies. The 
Northern and Middle Colonies bought only a few, for none 
but the wealthy could afiford to keep them for servants, 
while in the South the farmers bought thousands of them 
to work in the tobacco fields and rice swamps. 

36. Religion. A large part of the people were very 
religious. Many of them had come to America in order to 
have the kind of church they wished. In New England a 
minister and his congregation had come together to almost 
every one of the early settlements. In England they had 
been Pilgrims or Puritans. In New England most of them 
were Congregationalists and they paid taxes to support the 
church. Roger Williams was a Baptist and his church at 
Providence was the first Baptist church in America. In 
New York many people attended the Dutch Church. In 
Virginia and the Carolinas most of the people were Episco- 

35. How was slavery^ introduced into the United 
States? 

36. What church was most prominent in New Eng- 
land? In New York? In Virginia? In the Carolinas? In 
Maryland? Which colonies granted the most freedom in 
religion? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 35 

palians. In Maryland, also, the Episcopal Church was 
established by law and supported by taxes, though the 
colony had been first settled by Catholics. 

At first most of the colonies tried to have only one 
church and to keep out settlers who would not attend that 
church. The Massachusetts people tried to drive away the 
Episcopalians and the Quakers ; the Dutch were unkind to 
the Quakers ; the people of Virginia drove away Congrega- 
tionalists and Baptists. 

Maryland and Rhode Island gave the people religious 
freedom. Pennsylvania and Georgia treated all sects kindly 
and after a while all the colonies saw that this was the right 
thing to do. Every man wanted to choose his own church 
and be free himself and it was best to give others the right 
to choose for themselves. The ministers were usually the 
best educated men in the settlements and everybody went 
to them for advice of all kinds. On Sunday nearly all the 
people went to church and listened to sermons an hour long. 

37. Education.. At first there were not many free 
schools. The ministers taught the children reading, writ- 
ing, and arithmetic. Soon the New England people began 
to build schoolhouses. Here the boys went to school, but 
not many of the girls. Philadelphia had good public schools 
for both boys and girls. The Southern Colonies did not 
have many schools. The farmers lived too far apart on 
their large farms. Those who were rich enough had tutors 
for their children at home or sent them to England to be 
educated. 

All the New England colonies, and New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia had colleges for young 

37. What was done for education by the early colo- 
nists? 



36 AMERICAN HISTORY 

men. The colonists knew that their children needed to be 
educated and intelligent in order to be successful and 
hapnv. 

38. Homes. The early settlers lived in log cabins. 
After a while they built saw-mills. Then those who could 
afford it had houses built of lumber. A few of the rich had 
fine houses built of brick. They had no stoves, but they 
built large fireplaces to warm the houses and do the cook- 
ing. 

Most of the colonists made their own tables, chairs, and 
furniture. They used wooden and pewter dishes. The rich 
had furniture and china and silver dishes brought from Eng- 
land. 

39. Social Customs. In many ways the colonists 
helped one another do their work. This also helped them to 
visit and enjoy themselves together. When a man built a 
house his neighbors came and spent a day helping him put 
the heavy timbers in place. When the neighbors went 
home at night the frame of the house would be ready for 
the owner to cover with boards. Thev called their day's 
work a "house raising." When the corn was ripe they had 
husking parties. All the people of a neighborhood would 
come together and husk one man's corn in a single day. 

When a settler's wife had a bed-quilt to make she would 
invite her neighbors to come and help her and they would 
have a quilting party. In the evening the young people 
would come to these parties and have a dance. 

38. What kind of homes did the early settlers have? 

39. What were "house raisings''? Husking parties? 
Quilting parties? How was Thanksgiving celebrated? 
What is said of the drinking habit? Of "training days"? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 37 

On Thanksgiving Day large families would have a fine 
dinner together and the table would be loaded with turkey, 
chicken, vegetables, pies, puddings, and cake. 

When the long winter evenings came the colonists liked 
to visit their neighbors. Sitting together before the wide 
fireplaces they would talk, tell stories, eat nuts and apples, 
and drink cider. 

On all social occasions and whenever they met to do 
business the colonists drank a great deal of liquor and there 
was much drunkenness, poverty, and suffering as the result. 

In the Southern Colonies the slaves did nearly all the 
work and the owners of the great plantations spent much 
of their time visiting one another, hunting with their dogs 
and horses, going to social gatherings, and attending to 
politics. 

In all the colonies "training days" were held. On these 
days hundreds of men came together with their guns to be 
taught how to act as soldiers. Their officers trained them to 
march together and to load and fire their guns at the word 
of command. When the training was over there would be 
trials of skill to see who could shoot best with the rifle. 
This practice made them very good marksmen. The young 
men would also have running, jvimping, and wrestling 
matches and other games and sports. 

40. Travel. Most of the early settlements were on the 
seacoast and the banks of rivers, so that the colonists could 
travel from one to another by boats. When settlements 
were made at a distance from the coast and rivers people 
had to travel to them on foot or on horseback. There were 
no good roads and very few wheeled carriages. It was a 
common thing to see a man and his wife riding together on 

40. How did people travel? 



38 AMERICAN HISTORY 



the same horse along the poor country roads and the paths 
cut through the woods. In 1766, when a stage-coach went 
from New York to Philadelphia in two days, people called 
it a "flying machine." 

41. Government. When the Atlantic colonies were 
first settled they all had some sort of charter or written 
permission from the king or from some company appointed 
by the king. These charters told them what kind of govern- 
ment they could have. In some colonies the people did not 
like their governments and asked the king to change them. 
In other colonies the king did not like the way the people 
managed their governments and he quarreled with them 
and took away some of their privileges. 

The Dutch colony of New York was conquered by sol- 
diers sent from England and became an English colony. 
Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay colony united into 
one. Hartford, New Haven, and the other colonies in Con- 
necticut united and were all called Connecticut. 

When all these changes had been made there were thir- 
teen English colonies. Four were called New England colo- 
nies. These were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut. Four were called Middle Colonies. 
These were New York, New Jersey. Pennsylvania, and Del- 
aware. Five were Southern Colonies. These were Mary- 
land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Georgia. 

Each of the colonies had a legislature, or body of law 
makers, to look after its public affairs. The legislature was 
made up of two parts, or houses. There was an assembly, 

41. Describe the Charter colonies. The Proprietary 
colonies. The Royal colonies. What laws caused the 
colonists to complain? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 39 

called the lower house, or House of Representatives, chosen 
by the people themselves. The other part, called the upper 
house, was the Governor's Council. Besides helping make 
the laws, this body also gave advice to the governor and 
aided him in his duties. 

The colonies were divided into three groups according 
to the Avay in which the governor and his council were 
chosen. 

Rhode Island and Connecticut were called Charter Colo- 
nies, because their charters gave them the right to elect 
their own governors and councils. 

Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland were called 
Proprietary Colonies, because the proprietors appointed the 
governors and their councils. 

The other eight colonies were Royal Colonies. 

In all of these the king appointed the governors and he 
also appointed the councils in the Southern Colonies, but in 
Massachusetts the council was appointed by the assembly. 

In the small towns the people held elections to vote for 
their local officers, and attend to local affairs. Each colony 
was independent of all the others ; so they had no w^ay of 
making laws that should be obeyed by all the people in all 
the colonies. 

This kind of government suited the people very well 
when the kings left them alone, but the royal governors 
sometimes hindered them from making the kind of laws 
they wanted and the kings tried to make the people obey 
many laws made for them in England in order to benefit 
the Englishmen. This the people did not like. The king 
and his people at home w^anted to make money out of the 
trade and business of their colonies in America and they 
did not want the colonies to become strong and independ- 
ent and able to take care of themselves. 

In 1651 a law was made in Ensfland called the Naviga- 



40 AMERICAN HISTORY 

tion Act. This law said that Eni^land was the only country 
to which the colonists could sell their ,2^oods, and they must 
send their goods across the ocean in English or colonial 
ships. 

Another law- said that the colonists could not buy any 
goods made anywhere else in the world unless they were 
brought across the ocean in English ships. 

Another law hindered the people in one colony from 
trading" with their neighbors in another colony. If the 
people in Rhode Island wanted to trade certain things that 
they made for certain things made in Alassachusetts, the 
articles would have to be sent first to England and then sent 
back across the ocean in an English ship. If the j)eople 
were not willing to send the goods across the ocean and 
back they might trade with one another by paying a tax 
to England for the privilege. 

Twenty-nine different Navigation Acts were passed by 
England in order to make a profit out of the trade of the 
colonists. 

Then the king and his friends ai)pointed a number of 
men called a Hoard of Trade to go to xA.merica to see what 
could be done to make "the colonies most useful and bene- 
ficial to England." The Board of Trade told the king what 
was going on in America. This helped him to make the 
kind of laws he wanted. 

When he found out that the colonists were making 
woolen goods to sell abroad a law was passed saying that if 
any of the colonists attempted to ship any wool or woolen 
goods to any place in the world their ship and cargo should 
be taken away from them and they would have to pay a fine 
of $2,500.00. 

One law forbade the colonists to have any forges or iron 
mills. They could not have any furnaces to make steel. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 41 

They were told that their mills for making nails must be 
destroyed. 

The people of one colony could not make hats to sell to 
people in another colony. If they put any hats on a ship, 
a wagon, or a horse, to carry them to another colony, the 
hats could be seized by the king's officers and the owners 
made to pay a fine of $2,500.00. 

About the time that England was making these laws 
she was having trouble with France. This trouble gave the 
king so much to do that he did not enforce his unjust laws 
very well for some years and the people did considerable 
trading in spite of him. 

42. Intercolonial Wars. We have seen that England 
and France both claimed much of the same territory in 
America. England and France also had many wars in 
Europe. These two causes made wars in America. 

In 1688 a war broke out in England over who should be 
king. The people of England wanted William of Orange. 
The King of France wanted his friend, James II.. who had 
been driven out of England, to go back and be king again. 
When England and France began to fight each other their 
colonies in America also began to fight. The war which 
lasted from 1689 to 1697 was called King William's War. 

The Indians all joined the French, except the Iroquois 
in central New York. These Indians remembered how 
Champlain and his Frenchmen had fought against them and 
they joined the English. 

The French tried to come down from Canada and cap- 

42. What caused King William's War? What was 
the result of the war? What caused Queen Anne's War? 
What was the result? What caused King George's War? 
What place was captured by the English? What was the 
result of the war? 



42 AMERICAN HISTORY 

ture New York, but the Iroquois drove them back. Then 
the Canadians and their Indians began to burn homes and 
villages all along the New York and New England frontier. 

One party came into New York one cold winter night 
when all the people \\ere asleep and burned the town of 
Schenectady and murdered most of its inhabitants. The 
Indians also went into the Connecticut valley and de- 
stroyed many towns in New Hampshire and Massachu- 
setts. 

The colonists sent two small armies into Canada. One 
of them captured Port Royal. The other started to capture 
Quebec, but accomplished nothing. 

After eight years of fighting. France and England made 
a treaty and agreed that each country should have exactly 
the same land in America that it had before the war. 

Four years later England and France were in another 
war over who should be on the throne of Spain. Their colo- 
nists in America began to light again. We call this war, 
which lasted from 1702 to 1713, Queen Anne's War. 

All along the New York and New England frontier the 
Indians burned homes and murdered the English. Some 
soldiers from England helped the colonists capture Port 
Royal again. Another army sent to take Quebec failed and 
nearly 1,000 of the men died. \\Mien this war ended Port 
Royal and a large territory called Acadia were given to 
England by h>ance. 

In 1744 a third war began. In Europe, France, England 
and some other nations were fighting to see who should be 
on the throne of Austria. 

In America the war was called King George's War and 
lasted four years, from 1744 to 1748. There was only one 
important battle. The English ships and the New England 
soldiers captured Louisburg, on the Island of Cape Breton. 
This was one of the strongest forts in the world and the 
colonists felt very proud of their victory. But when the 
war was over England gave it back to France in exchange 
for some English land that France had captured. 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

43. The Fourth War Begins. Though England and 
France had fought three times in America, they had not 
decided which should rule. Both claimed the country to 
the west of the English colonies. Both meant to hold it. 

For years the French had been building forts from 
Canada down into the Mississippi valley. 

The Virginia farmers and traders now applied to the 
King of England and got permission to settle on half a 
million acres in the valley of the Ohio River. They called 
themselves the Ohio Company. They began to build a road 
from Virginia. 

They soon heard that the French were building forts on 
their land. The governor of Virginia sent a young man 
named George Washington to tell the French that they 
must not settle there. 

It was a very long and dangerous journey that young 
Washington had to make, but he and a few English and 
Indian guides found the French forts and told their com- 
mander that the governor of Virginia said the French must 
not stay there. The commander treated Washington well, 
but said his people should stay and hold the land. 

Washington went back to Virginia, and when he told 
what the French commander had said, men were quickly 
sent to build a fort on the Ohio. 

Washington followed the men with some soldiers. 

43. What caused the French and Indian War? What 
was the Ohio Company? Describe Washington's journey 
to the French forts. What followed? 



44 AMERICAN HISTORY 

While Washington was one the journey the French drove 
away the men who were building- the fort. They finished 
it themselves and named it Fort Duquesne, after the gov- 
ernor of Canada. 

The French then sent soldiers to meet Washington. In 
the first attack Washington was successful. The French 
commander and many of his men were killed. lUit a larger 
band of French and Indians surrounded Washington a few 
days later and compelled him to surrender. They llien 
allowed him to go back to Virginia. 

England and France both sent soldiers across the ocean 
to help their colonies and they began to prepare for war. 

44. Plans for Union. The English colonists saw that a 
great struggle was coming. All the colonies must work 
together and help one another in order to win. 

Benjamin Franklin, the editor of a newspaper called the 
F'ennsylvania Gazette, printed in his newspaper a picture 
of a snake cut into several pieces. These pieces were 
marked with the names of the English colonies. Under 
the picture it read "Join or Die." 

Union was a very important thing for the colonies, but 
they had Ijeen slow in learning it. In 1643 the four settle- 
ments at Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay. Hartford, and New 
Haven had formed a union in order to protect themselves 
against attacks from the Dutch, French, and Indians. This 
union lasted forty-one years. 

In 1690 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York sent 
men to a meeting to make plans to help one another during 
King William's War. 

44. When before this had the colonists tried to unite 
for protection? What was Franklin's plan now? Why did 

it faiU 



AMERICAN HISTORY 45 

These unions did some good, but what was needed was 
a union of all the colonies. 

After the people read what Benjamin Franklin said in 
his newspaper the four New England Colonies and New 
York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland sent men to Albany to 
try to make a union of all the thirteen colonies. 

The king also wanted them to unite. Franklin helped 
the men at Albany and they made a plan for a union which 
said the king should appoint a president for the colonies 
and the people should elect a council. The president and 
the council should manage the afifairs of the union. 

The people voted against the plan because they thought 
it gave too much power to the king. The king did not like 
the plan because he thought it gave too mvich power to the 
people ; so the plan failed, but it was a good thing for the 
people to talk and think about union and they learned to 
help one another. They fought together Vv^ith England 
against the French. 

45. Plan of the War. The English and the colonists 
planned to do five things: 1. They must capture Fort 
Duquesne, because they needed it in order to hold the Ohio 
Valley and protect Pennsylvania and Virginia. 2. They 
must capture Louisburg again and punish the French set- 
tlers of Nova Scotia in order to protect New Eno-land. 3. 
The French forts at Crown Point and Ticonderoga must be 
captured, because these protected the route from Canada 
through Lake Champlain and Lake George into New York. 
4. The English must get possession of Fort Niagara be- 
tween Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in order to protect their 

45. What was the plan of the war? Tell what General 
Braddock did. What was done by Colonel Moncton and 
Colonel Winslow? What was done by General Loudoun? 
By General Johnson? By General Shirley? 



46 AMERICAN HISTORY 

fur traders around the Great Lakes. 5. Quebec must be 
captured. This would make the English masters of the St. 
Lawrence Valley. 

1. Fort Duquesne. General Braddock came over from 
England in 1755 to capture this fort. He chose George 
Washington to go with him and command the \'irginia 
troops. 

General Braddock was brave, but he did not know how 
to fight Indians. On the way to the fort the French and 
Indians suddenly attacked him in the woods. The Indians 
hid behind trees and rocks and shot many of the English. 
General Braddock was killed. His soldiers began to run 
and were saved by Washington and the Virginia troops. 
The English then retreated to Philadelphia and Washing- 
ton returned to Virginia. 

2. Nova Scotia and Louisburg. Colonel Moncton with 
300 English soldiers and Colonel Winslow with 2000 troops 
from Massachusetts went to Nova Scotia. England had 
owned this ever since Queen Anne's War. but the settlers 
Avere French and would not obey the English rulers ; so 
now (1755) Colonel Moncton and Colonel Winslow con- 
quered a strong French fort (Beau Sejour), just north of 
Nova Scotia, and then seized 6000 French Acadians (the 
people who then lived in Nova Scotia), and put thcni on 
board the English ships. 

These Acadians were carried to the English colonies 
and scattered all the way from Massachusetts to Georgia. 
This was one of the most cruel acts of the war. 

General Loudoun drilled an army all summer in Nova 
Scotia in order to attack Louisburg. but when he learned 
that some French ships had come to Louisburg he was 
afraid to go and did nothing. 

3. Crown Point. General William Johnson of New 
York marched against Crown Point. A battle was fought 



AMERICAN HISTORY 47 

near Lake George in which General Johnson was wounded. 
General Lyman, who was with him. then took command 
and won a victory. General Johnson decided to do nothing- 
more. 

4. Niagara. General Shirlev. governor of Massachu- 
setts, started to capture Niagara. When he heard of Brad- 
dock's defeat and death he built a fort near Lake Ontario 
and went home. 

46. William Pitt. During the first two years of the 
war the English lost most of the battles. The French had 
good generals. Those sent over by England were not the 
right kind. 

The English now decided to make a change. They ap- 
pointed a new man, William Pitt, to manage their wars. 
He sent more soldiers and better generals to America. The 
colonists now had hope of success and more of them en- 
tered the army. 

L Fort Duquesne Taken. Une of Pitt's good com- 
manders, General Forbes, started for another attack on Fort 
Duquesne. Washington went with him and showed him 
how to fight the Indians. As they approached the fort the 
French set it on fire and ran away. The English raised 
their flag where the fort had been and named the place Fort 
Pitt. 

2. Louisburg Taken. Admiral Boscawen and Generals 
Amherst and Wolfe sailed to Louisburg. In six weeks they 
had captured the fort and 5000 French soldiers. 

46. Who was William Pitt? What change did he 
make in the management of the war? How was Fort 
Duquesne taken? Louisburg? Crown Point and Ticon- 
deroga? Niagara? Quebec? Tell about the death of Wolfe 
and Montcalm. 



48 AMERICAN HISTORY 

3. Crown Point and Ticonderogfa Taken. General 
Howe was sent with an army of 15,000 men to take Ticon- 
deroga. L'nfortunately he was killed before the army 
reached the fort. This left General Abercrombie in com- 
mand. He was a worthless general and stayed where it 
was safe while he sent his men to take the fort. Two 
thousand of his men were killed and nothing was gained. 
The next year (1759) General Amherst apDroached with a 
large army and both Crown Point and Ticonderoga sur- 
rendered. 

4. Niagara. General Shirley, Governor of Massachu- 
from Schenectady, New York, with an army of English and 
American troops. Thev reached Niagara and prepared for 
an attack. General Prideaux was accidentally killed by the 
bursting of a shell, but (jeneral Johnson carried out his plan 
of attack and the French surrendered the fort. 

5. Quebec. The city of Quebec and its fort must now- 
be captured. This fort was on a solid rock high above the 
St. Lawrence River. It was surrounded by high and thick 
walls of stone. It seemed impossible to capture it, but 
General James Wolfe, who had helped capture Louisburg. 
was sent to take it. He had 9000 men. The French had 
16,000. General Wolfe sailed up the St. Lawrence. The 
rVench soldiers guarded the river for miles from the city. 
After weeks of fighting Wolfe sailed past the fort and went 
some miles up the river. He tried to find some way to 
climb the steep bank up to the fort. Finally he discovered 
a narrow path up through the woods. 

One dark night his army, came down the river in their 
boats and landed near this path. They climbed the steep 
bank and in the morning tlie^ were on the Heights of 
Abraham, a level plain, back of the city. Montcalm, the 
French commander, at once led his army against the 



AMERICAN HISTORY 49 

English. It was a terrible battle. Both generals were 
fatally wounded. The English won the battle. 

As Wolfe was dying he heard some one say, "They run ! 
They run !" "Who run ?" he asked. "The French," was the 
answer. "Now God be praised; I die happy!" he murmured. 
In a few minutes he was dead. When they told Montcalm 
that he was dying, he said, "So much the better; I shall not 
live to see the surrender of Quebec." 

In the city of Quebec to-day one can see the common 
monument which has been erected to the memory of these 
two brave men. On the monument is this inscription : 
"Valor gave a united death. History a united fame. Posterity 
a united monument." 

September 18, 1759, five days after the battle, the city 
and fort surrendered to the English. 

47. End of the War. The next year France tried to re- 
capture Quebec, but failed. General Amherst and a large 
army captured Montreal. All the rest of Canada surren- 
dered to England. 

The English and Americans now sent an army to Cuba 
because Spain had helped France. After two months' fight- 
ing they captured Havana. 

Another English army went to the Philippine Islands, 
which belonged to Spain. This army captured the city of 
Manila, the capital of the islands. 

48. The Treaty of Peace. England, France, and Spain 
sent men to Paris in 1763 to make peace. France gave 
England all she owned in Canada and all her land east of 
the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. New Orleans 
and all France owned west of the Mississippi were given to 

47. What was done after the capture of Quebec? 

48. What was the result of the war? 



50 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Spain. Spain gave England Florida in exchange for 
Havana and Manila. 

All that France had left in Xorth America was a grou]) 
of small islands at the mouth of the (nilf of St. Lawrence 
south of Newfoundland, lingland let her keep these in 
order to have a place to carry on cod-fishing. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

49. Effects of the French and Indian War. This war 
made England master of North America. It also made the 
colonists better acquainted with one another. Men from 
many colonies now learned to plan and work and fight 
together. They saw, too, better than they had ever seen 
before, that England was selfish and would not treat them 
justly. The English soldiers laughed at tne Americans and 
and treated them rudely because they were awkvvard. 
The English generals made the best American officers take 
low positions in the army in order to make high positions 
for young Englishmen. 

The Americans had to pay twice as much money as the 
English for the expenses of the army, but when the war was 
over the English tried to make the Americans pay them 
larger taxes so that they could get back what they had 
spent in all the wars that had been fought in America. The 
Americans refused to pay these taxes. 

50. Causes of the Revolution. England's treatment of 
the colonies caused another war. This time it was between 
the English and the Americans. ( )ne of the causes was the 
Navigation Acts. The Americans had never obeyed some 

49. What were some of the effects of the French and 
Indian War? 

50. What were the main causes of the Revolutionary 
War? Tell about the Boston Massacre. 



52 AMERICAN HISTORY 

of these laws because they said Englana had no right to 
make such laws. England could not punish them while the 
w?rs with France were going on. 

When Canada surrendered, England said she would 
make the Americans obey these laws. The Americans re- 
fused and a quarrel began. England also said that she was 
going to keep an army in America to protect her land and 
the Americans must pay the expenses of this army. The 
Americans would not pay. 

England passed a law called the Stamp Act. This law 
said that all newspapers, almanacs, and all kinds of legal 
papers must have a stamp on them. These stamps cost 
from one cent to sixty dollars and must be bought of 
English officers. The colonists would not buy them. 

Men from nine of the colonies met at New York and held 
a Stamp Act Congress in 1765. They said it was one of 
the rights of English colonists that thev should pay no 
taxes to anybody but their own officers. They couk'. not 
be taxed by anybody else without their own consent. They 
did not send any men, or representatives, to the English 
Parliament. Therefore they said that the Stamp Act and 
all other tax laws made by Parliament could not be en- 
forced in the colonies. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. 
but said they had a right to make any law they wished for 
America. 

In 1767 they made another law which said the Americans 
must pay a tax on all glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea 
brought into the colonies. The king sent soldiers to 
America to make the people pay the taxes. 

In Boston, one evening, .(March 5, 1770), some young 
men got into a quarrel with the soldiers and the soldiers 
shot three of them dead and wounded eight others. This 
was called the Boston Massacre. 

All over the colonies the people said they would not pay 



AMERICAN HISTORY 53 

the taxes to England. Ship loads of tea were sent to New 
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, but the people would 
not let it land. The ships had to carry it back to England. 
At Boston the people threw the tea into the sea. Parlia- 
ment passed a law that no ship could trade with Boston 
until the people paid for the tea, but they did not pay. 

51. The First Continental Congress. In 1774 men 
from all the colonies but Georgia met at Philadelphia and 
said the colonies would not trade with England until the 
unjust tax-laws were repealed. They also asked the king 
to treat them justly and sent letters explaining their trouble 
to the people of England, the people of Canada, and the 
colonists. They voted to have another meeting in Phila- 
delphia in May. 1775. 

52. War Begins. In the spring of 1775 General Gage, 
who commanded the English soldiers in Boston, made up 
his mind to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock 
These men were the leaders of the American patriots in 
Massachusetts. The night of the 18th of April these two 
men were staying at a house near Lexington, a few miles 
from Boston. Gage sent some soldiers to capture them 
and also get some powder and supplies, which the patriots 
had collected at Concord, a few miles beyond Lexington. 

When the English soldiers left Boston a patriot named 
Paul Revere started on horseback for Lexington and Con- 
cord. During the night he warned the farmers that the 
English were coming. In the morning when the English 
reached Lexington fifty patriots were there waiting for 

51. Where and when did the First Conitnental Con- 
gress meet? What did they do? 

52. Describe the battle of Le5cington. 



54 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



them. The English fired and killed eight. Then thev went 
to Concord. Four hundred patriots were there ready to 
fight. They had a l)attle and the English were driven back 
and started for Boston. 

From all directions the farmers came running to attack 
them. All the way back to Lexington, a distance of ten 
miles, thev fired at them from behind houses, trees, and 





STANO YOUff CUr-, . 



Boulder marking the position of the line of the Minute Men at 
the Battle of Lexington. 

Stone walls. At Lexington thev met some more li!nglish 
soldiers who had come from Boston to help them. The 
Americans shot them down and chased them all the way 
back to Boston. Three hundred of the English were 
killed. The Americans lost, eisfhty-eight men. 

53. The Effect. When the American patriots heard 
that a battle had been fought, they took their guns and 



53. What was the effect of the battle of Lexington? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



hurried to Boston from all over New England. In a few- 
days sixteen thousand men were camped near Boston ready 
for war. 

54. The Second Continental Congress. When the Con- 
tinental Congress met the second time at Philadelphia, in 
May, 1775, the patriots asked the delegates to make plans 
for the war. They had not been elected to do thi>^, but 
somebody must do it quickly and they thought that they 
ought to do what the people wished ; so they voted to call 
the patriots who were camped around Boston the Conti- 
nental Army. Troops from Pennsylvania and Marvland 
were ordered to join the Boston troops. Congress appointed 
George Washington commander-in-chief of this army. 
Washington went to Cambridge, near Boston, and took 
command of the army July 3, 1775. 

55 Bunker Hill. On June 17, before Washington could 
get there, the Americans and the English fought another 
battle near Boston. The Americans had begun to fortify 
a hill near the city. The English went to attack them. The 
Americans drove back the English twice. When they came 
up the hill the third time the Americans had no more 
powder, but they fought with their gunstocks and with 
stones. The English captured the hill, but they lost twice 
as many men as the Americans lost. 

56. The English Driven from Boston. For months 
Washington tried to drive the English out of Boston. At 
last, in the spring of 1776, he got possession of a hill called 



54. When and where did the Second Continental Con- 
gress meet? What did they at once do? Why? Who was 
appointed to lead the American army? 

55. Describe the battle of Bunker Hill. 

56. How were the English driven from Boston? 



56 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Dorchester Heights. This hill overlooked the city, and 
when the English saw Washington's soldiers and their 
cannon on the hill they left the city and sailed away to 
Halifax, in Nova Scotia. Washington thought that the 
English would soon try to capture New York ; so he went 
there and fortified Brooklyn Heights, on Long Island. 

57. Independence. While the fighting around Boston 
had been going on the Continental Congress had sent a 
man named Richard Penn to England to try to get the king 
to make peace and give the Americans their rights. The 
king refused. He also hired Hessian soldiers in Germany 
and sent them to America, because the Englishmen did not 
like to fight the Americans. 

The Americans now began to talk about being free from 
England. Before this they were willing to belong to Eng- 
land if they could have their rights. Now they said they 
would fight to be free and have a separate nation of their 
own. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted 
"that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
free and independent states." That day was the birthday 
of American freedom. 

There were many people who thought it wrong to op- 
pose the king. These were called Tories. Some of them 
joined the English army ; some went to Canada ; some 
stayed in the colonies and had much trouble with the 
patriots. 

58. Battle of Long Island. Soon the English army was 
joined by more soldiers from England and they went to 



57. What did the Americans fight for at first? What 
was done on July 4, 1776? 

58. Describe the battle of Long Island. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 57 

capture New York. A terrible battle was fought on Long 
Island and the Americans were beaten. They fled to New 
York City and then crossed the Hudson River into New 
Jersey. 

The English took possession of New York and then 
chased the Americans to the Delaware River. Washing- 
ton's army crossed into Pennsylvania and the English 
could not follow because the Americans had all the boats. 

The English and Hessians took possession of Trenton, 
and their commander, Lord Cornwallis, went back to New 
York to celebrate Christmas. 

59. Public Sentiment. The patriot soldiers were dis- 
couraged. Many of them left the army. People found fault 
with Washington because he had been beaten. Many be- 
came Tories. 

But there were some who had faith in Washington. 
Robert Morris of Philadelphia was one of his best friends. 
He borrowed a great deal of money and gave it to Wash- 
ington for the army. 

60. The Battle of Trenton. On Christmas night Wash- 
ington went back across the Delaware River with 2400 men 
and surprised the Hessians, who were having a good time, 
eating and drinking. He captured 1000 men and lost only 
four of his own soldiers. This filled the patriots with hope. 

A few days later he captured 200 more men at Prince- 
ton. Soon the Americans drove nearly all the English out 
of New Jersey. During the next fall (1777) the English 
won a battle at Brandywine and another at Germantown. 
Then they took possession of Philadelphia and Washing- 

59. What is said of public sentiment at this time? 

60. What took place at Trenton? How did it affect 
the patriots? What happened at Valley Forge? 



58 AMERICAN HISTORY 

ton made his camp at X'alley Forge, about twenty-two miles 
from the city. Here his army stayed all winter and nearly 
starved and almost froze to death. They suffered terribly 
and that winter was the saddest of all during the war. 

61 Burgoyne's Surrender. Another English army was 
sent to Canada to try to capture the state of New York. 
General Burgoyne, the commander, led part of this army 
to Lake George and then started for Albany. The rest of 
the army was to come by other routes and join him there, 
but every one of his plans failed. General Stark killed and 
captured one thousand of his men at Bennington, Vermont. 
General Herkimer defeated another of Burgoyne's generals 
at Fort Stanw^ix, in the Mohawk valley, and General Arnold 
drove the English out of central New York and back to 
Canada. All the rest of Burgoyne's large army was defeated 
at Saratoga and surrendered to (jeneral Gates, October 17, 
1777. 

This victory made many friends for the Americans. 
France had already sent money to help the Americans fight 
against England. Now the King of France sent ships and 
soldiers. Spain and Holland had also sent money to help 
the Americans and both these countries now made war on 
England. 

62. The Close of the War. The war lasted three years 
after the French army joined the Americans, but the 
patriots were now hopeful and full of courage. Sir Henry 
Clinton was in command of the English in Philadelphia. 

61. What did Burgoyne try to do? How did he suc- 
ceed? What was the effect on the Americans? On other 
nations ? 

62. What occurred at Philadelphia? Near New York? 
In the South? At West Point? At Yorktown? What did 
King George HI. wish? What did Parliament say? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 59 

When he heard that the French were coming he and his 
army left the city and went to New York. Several battles 
were fought around New York and near the New England 
coast, but the main part of the war was in the South. 

The state of Georgia was conquered by the English and 
also a large part of South Carolina. At Camden, in South 
Carolina, Lord Cornwallis and the English won a great 
victory over General Gates and the Americans. Paul Jones 
and some other sea captains with a few American ships 
did much damage to the English vessels and won many vic- 
tories. 

General Benedict Arnold became a traitor and tried to 
sell the American fort at West Point, on the Hudson River, 
to the English. Washington discovered his plan and it 
failed, but Arnold joined the English army and fought 
against his own country. 

In 1781 General Nathaniel Greene led the Americans in 
the South. The English were driven out of Georgia. The 
traitor Arnold and the English general, Cornwallis, then 
burned houses and destroyed ten million dollars" worth of 
American property. 

After this Cornwallis fortified a camp at Yorktovvn, in 
Virginia. Here General Lafavette, a young French officer 
who had come to America to help Washington, kept guard 
and watched the English army while Greene again went 
South and drove the English out of most of South Carolina. 
In a short time a French fleet arrived and prevented Corn- 
wallis from escaping by sea. Washington hurried from the 
Hudson River to Yorktown to prevent Cornwallis from 
escaping by land. Count Rochambeau and the French army 
w'ere with Washington. The English army was in a trap. 
After fighting a week Cornwallis surrendered and the Revo- 
lutionary War was over. King George III. wanted to fight 
again, but Parliament said "No!'' and he had to make peace. 



60 AMERICAN HISTORY 

63. Boundaries. On September 3, 1783, some men 
chosen by England and America signed a treaty of peace at 
Paris. They agreed that the United States should be free 
and should extend from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to 
the Mississippi River on the west. Canada on the north 
should belong to England. All Florida was given to Spain ; 
the country west of the Mississippi River already belonged 
to Spain. The thirteen colonies were now the thirteen 
United States of ^America. 

63. Where was peace made? In what year? What 
were the boundaries of the United States? 



THE ERA OF FEDERATION. 

64. The Articles of Confederation. The new United 
States needed a new ^s^overnment. When the war was over 
the union that held the thirteen states together was Aveak. 
While the war was going on danger had held them together. 
They knew that if they did not unite and fight together 
they could not win their freedom from England. Now all 
that held them together was the Articles of Confederation. 

The Articles of Confederation were a written agreement 
made by the states during the war. On the same day that 
the Continental Congress appointed a committee to write 
the Declaration of Independence they also appointed another 
committee to write a plan of union for the new states. 
They wrote a plan which was called the Articles of Con- 
federation. The Congress approved the plan in 1777. Then 
it was sent to the legislatures of all the states to see if they 
would vote for it. If all the legislatures voted for the plan 
it was to be a law for all the states. 

Some of the states had no western land. Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, Virginia, and some other states claimed the 
unsettled land west of them as far as the Mississippi River. 
They could sell this land to pay their part of the cost of the 
war, or they could give the land to their soldiers to pay 
what they owed them. The states that had no western 
land said this would be unfair. The western land ought to 
belong to all the United States and to be used for the good 

64. What were the Articles of Confederation? Who 
made them? 



62 AMERICAN HISTORY 

of the union, not for part of the states. Maryland said she 
would not vote for the Articles of Confederation unless the 
states ^ave their western land to the union. Finally the 
states agreed to give nearly all this land to the union and 
let Congress use it or sell it for the benefit of all the people 
and make new states which should join the union. This 
satisfied Maryland and she joined the other twelve states 
and voted for the Articles of Confederation and made them 
a law. 



65. Defects of the Articles of Confederation. The new 

government had many troubles. 1. It could not get money 
to pay its debts. During the war the Congress had made 
$200,000,000 of paper money called Continental bills and 
used it to pay the expenses of the army. Paper money is 
good when it can be changed for gold or silver or for 
valuable property that people are willing to have instead of 
money. When a gov^ernment has no gold, or silver, or val- 
uable property that it can give in exchange for its paper 
money, this money becomes worthless and cannot be used 
to buy anything. The Congress thought that the people of 
the states would pay taxes and give gold and silver to make 
the paper money good. The states would not do this ; so the 
money would buy nothing. Many people became poor be- 
cause they had sold their land and their goods for this 
money. Under the Articles of Confederation there would 
always be trouble about money, for the Congress had no 
right to tax the people. The states could tax themselves, 
but if Congress wanted any money to spend the states 
would not give it unless they wished to do so. 



65. What were the defects of the Articles of Con- 
federation? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 63 

2. Congress could not make laws to protect trade. If 
Americans sent goods to England the English made them 
pay a tax, but when England sent goods to America Con- 
gress had no power to tax them. New York made Con- 
necticut and New Jersey pay a tax on what the farmers sold 
in New York City. Other states made their neighbors pay 
taxes for the right to sell their goods. This made trouble 
and was bad for business, but Congress could do nothing to 
help it. 

3. Congress could not make the people obey the laws. 
In Massachusetts a number of people refused to pay their 

debts and taxes and tried to break up the courts. These 
people had been made poor by the war and the government 
ought to have helped them, but it could not. They did 
wrong in fighting the laws and courts of their own state, 
but Congress could not help the courts any more than it 
could help these poor men. 

4. The government had no president to enforce its laws. 
It had no judges to try cases and settle disputes. It had a 
Congress, but Congress could not do much. It could tell 
the states what they ought to do, but could not make them 
do it. The people needed a government that was strong 
enough to do something. 

66. Adoption of the Constitution. Four years after 
they made peace with England the people of the United 
States decided that they must change the Articles of Con- 
federation. They could never prosper and be happy until 
they had a better government. All the states except Rhode 
Island sent delegates to attend a convention at Philadelphia 

66. Describe the making and adoption of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. Name the three departments of 
government. 



f)4 AMERICAN HISTORY 

to decide what ought to be done. They decided to make a 
new plan of government and ask the states to adopt it. 

This Convention worked ahnost four months, from May 
25 to September 17, 1787. George Washington was presi- 
dent and the delegates were very wise and able men. When 
they finished their plan they called it the Constitution of 
the United States. They sent it to all the states and asked 
them to vote for it. 

If nine of the thirteen states voted for it that made it a 
law and those nine states would belong to the new Union. 
The other four states could do as they liked about joining 
this Union. If they did not join they would have to be little 
nations by themselves and take care of themselves and their 
own afifairs. 

There were many things in the new Constitution that 
some of the people did not like and they argued a long time 
before they would vote for it. The friends of the Constitu- 
tion said that it was best to vote for it and form a new 
Union. Then they could change the Constitution and make 
it better by adding "amendments." Within a year all the 
states except Rhode Island and North Carolina voted for 
the Constitution. These eleven states said that now they 
had a "New Roof" over their heads and they were happy. 

The Constitution divided the new government into three 
great departments. 1. The legislative department, or Con- 
gress, which has power to 'make laws and do business for 
the whole Union. 2, The executive department, which is 
the President and all his assistants, who see that the laws 
are obeyed. 3. The judicial department, which consists 
of the supreme court and other United States courts. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 65 

67 The First President. The states that had now come 
under the "New Roof" at once made plans to choose the 
first President and a new Congress. George Washington 
was the choice of every state for President. John Adams 
of Massachusetts was elected Vice President. 

Congress met in New York City in the spring of 1789 
and on April 30 they were ready for President Washington 
to take his ofifice. He stood on the balcony of Federal Hall, 
where the people could see him. When he had taken the 
oath of ofifice and promised to do his duty to his country, 
the people in the streets and on the housetops all shouted 
"Long live George Washington, President of the United 
States !" 

68. Beginning of the New Government. One of the 
first things that Washington did was to choose four of the 
best men he knew to help him. He called these men his 
Cabinet, or council. Pie chose Thomas Jefiferson to be his 
Secretary of State and help him when he had business with 
other nations. Alexander Hamilton was his Secretary of 
the Treasury to help take care of the country's money. 
General Henry Knox was his Secretary of War to take care 
of the afifairs of the army. Edmund Randolph was Attorney 
General. His duty was to give the President advice on 
questions of law. Washington also chose John Jay to be 
the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

69. Hamilton's Work. The first thing that Hamilton 
had to do was to pay the debts of the government. By his 
advice Congress passed five important laws. 1. A law put- 

67. Who was the first President of the United States? 
In what year was he elected? 

68. Who were in W^ashington's Cabinet? 

69. What important laws did Hamilton ask Congress 
to pass? 



66 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Un^Jt; a tax on goods brought to this country from other 
countries. This law helped the United States in two ways. 
It gave the government a great deal of money to use and 
it helped the Americans to sell their own goods, because 
they did not have to pay the tax and could sell for less than 
foreigners who must pay it. 2. A law requiring the gov- 
ernment to j)ay what the Americans owed to foreign coun- 
tries for helping carry on the Revolutionary W^ar. 3. A 
law requiring the national government to pay the expenses 
of the different states for carrying on the war. 4. A law 
establishing a I'nited States Bank in which to keep the 
government's money. 3. A law putting a tax on whiskey 
and other liquors. 

70. Trouble Begins. One of the first serious troubles 
occurred in Pennsylvania. The people there raised grain 
and made it into whiskey. They did not like the whiskey 
tax and refused to pay it. Two thousand of them prepared 
to fight. Washington sent twelve thousand soldiers to 
l)unish them and they obeyed the law without fighting. 

Another trouble came from France. FVance and Eng- 
land were having a war and France wanted the United 
States to help her, because she had helped the United 
States during the Revolution. Washington said that the 
Americans could not help. Some of the people did not 
agree with Washington, and Genet, the I'>ench minister to 
the United States, tried to get help in spite of Washington. 
He was making trouble among the people and W'ashington 
asked France to call him home. He went, but the F^rench 
were very angry about it. 

70. What was the Whiskey Rebellion? What trouble 
occurred with F>ance? Who were called "loose construc- 
tionists"? \\'ho were called "close constructionists"? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 67 

Another thing that made trouble was the meaning of 
the new Constitution. Some people thought it gave Con- 
gress the right to do things which were not mentioned in 
it. If these things needed to be done and the Constitution 
did not say anything against doing them, they said Con- 
gress ought to do them. These people were called loose 
constructionists. Most of them were also Federalists be- 
cause the}" believed in having a strong Union, or federation 
of states. Hamilton was their leader. Other people thought 
that Congress should do nothing except what the Constitu- 
tion said they should do. They were called close construc- 
tionists, or Republicans. After a while they changed their 
name to Democrats. Jefiferson was their leader. 

When Washington and Adams had been in office four 
years they were elected again for four years more. Wash- 
ington declined to be President for a third term and issued 
a farewell address advising his people to be true to their 
Union which gave them liberty and prosperity. 

At the next Presidential election the people were divided 
into parties. The Federalists wanted John Adams to be 
President. The Republicans voted for Thomas Jefferson. 
Adams was elected President and Jefiferson Vice-President. 

Ever since that time there have been political parties 
and when election time comes the voters of each party try 
to elect men of their own party to office. Some very im- 
portant questions have been settled by these parties. Let 
us study a few of them. 

71. The Slavery Question. When the Constitution of 
the United States was made many people thought it w^ould 

71. Why did the South have more slaves than the 
North? When the Constitution was made what did many 
people think would be done with the slaves? What made 
them change their minds? How many states freed their 
slaves? How many kept them? How did the North and 
South differ on the tariff question ? What was the Missouri 
Compromise? The Compromise of 1850? The Kansas- 
Nebraska Law? What caused war? 



68 AMERICAIs HISTORY 

not be long before all the states would give up keeping 
slaves. The people of New England and the Northern 
States had two reasons why they did not want slaves. 
1. Their business and the cold climate made slaves less 
profitable than they were in the Southern States. 2. Many 
of the people thought it was wrong to deprive negroes of 
their freedom. In the South many also thought the slaves 
ought to be free and some wealthy men like George Wash- 
ington made arrangements to give freedom to their negroes. 

Something soon happened that made many Southerners 
change their minds. In 1794 Eli Whitney invented the cot- 
ton gin, a machine for separating cotton from its seed. One 
slave with this machine could clean as much cotton as a 
hundred could clean without it. It became very profitable 
to raise cotton and so much was planted that the Southern- 
ers needed all their slaves and wanted more. New England 
ship owners made a business of going to Africa to get 
negroes to sell to the cotton planters. In the North seven 
of the original thirteen states had freed their slaves. In the 
South the other six kept them. 

The North manufactured goods to sell and wanted a 
protective tarifif to keep foreign goods from being brought 
to this country. The South had to buy its manufactured 
goods and wanted a low tarifif to make them cheaper. So 
the free states and the slave states were jealous of each 
other. Each side feared the other would get too strong in 
the government and make laws for its own benefit. 

For this reason when new states wished to join the 
Union members of Congress from the free and the slave 
states disputed whether the new states should have slaves 
or not. 

For years the number of free states and the number of 
slave states were kept as nearly equal as possible. Many 



AMERICAN HISTORY 69 

compromises were made to keep peace between the two 
groups of states. When Missouri was admitted into the 
Union it was agreed that she should be a slave state, but 
that no more slave states should be admitted north of 36 
degrees and 30 minutes, which was the southern boundary 
of Missouri. 

In 1850 another compromise was made regarding the 
new territory that the United States had obtained from 
Mexico as the result of a war with that country. California 
was a part of this territory. It was agreed by Congress to 
let California join the Union as a free state. The rest of 
the territory was left to decide for itself, which meant that 
the people there could have slaves if they wished. 

Four years later (1854) Congress passed the Kansas- 
Nebraska Law, saying that these two territories could have 
slaves or not as they wished. Both territories are north of 
the southern boundary of Missouri ; so this law repealed the 
Missouri Compromise. 

The North and the South sent men to Kansas to settle 
and there was much fighting and bloodshed. The free states 
were determined that slavery should not spread into any 
more northern territory, and when they elected Abraham 
Lincoln President several of the slave states decided to 
break up the Union and have a separate government of 
their own where they could do as they wished about slav- 
ery. This brought on the war between the states of the 
North and the states of the South, commonly calls the Civil 
War. This war settled the slavery question by making all 
the slaves free as we shall see when we come to study about 
it. 

72. The Bank Question. Soon after the government 



72. Who asked Congress to charter a National Bank? 
Who opposed the plan ? Give the history of the bank. 



70 AMERICAN HISTORY 



was organized Alexander Hamilton asked Congress to char- 
ter a National Bank. This bank was to be at Philadelphia 
and it was to have branches in the large cities all over the 
country. The government was to own part of the bank but 
private persons were to own most of it. It was to keep all 
the revenues of the government and act as agent for the 
government in collecting, borrowing, and paying out money. 
It could make paper money which should be good to pay 
all kinds of debts anywhere in the country. Jefferson and 
the strict constructionists did not want the bank and said 
that Congress had no right to charter it. Congress and the 
President accepted Hamilton's advice and chartered the 
bank for twenty years. 

At the end of the twenty years Jefferson's party was in 
office and refused to renew the charter. For about five 
years the only banks were state banks. The people were 
afraid to trust these banks and business suffered so much 
that in 1816 the bank was chartered for another twenty 
years. 

When the time came to renew the second charter An- 
drew Jackson was President and he vetoed the bill passed 
by Congress and thus killed the bank. He believed that 
the bank favored the rich instead of the poor and during 
the last three years that the bank was in existence he kept 
the government's money in state banks. 

The state banks made it easy for the peo]-)le to borrow 
money and many used it carelessly in speculation. This 
made it seem unwise to trust them with the government's 
money and in 1840 Congress established an independent 
treasury at Washington with branches in other cities and 
the government has since kept its money in its own treas- 
ury. 

During President Tyler's term Congress passed a bill 



AMERICAN HISTORY 71 

to charter a third bank but the President vetoed the bill 
and killed it. During the Civil War Congress passed a law 
to establish a new kind of National Banks. These are not 
to keep the government's money, but to make it easier for 
the government to borrow money, because the law rec^uires 
that each bank must buy bonds of the government. To 
buy bonds of the government means to lend money to the 
government and take the government's note, called a bond, 
in return. Under this law we now have National Banks 
in nearly all our cities and large towns. 

Any five persons who have sufficient capital may or- 
ganize a bank. They must pay the government for all the 
bonds they wish and then leave them in the treasury of the 
United States for safe keeping. The government at Wash- 
ington sends the bank unsigned paper bills equal to nine- 
tenths the amount of the bonds. These bills must be signed 
by the President and Treasurer of the bank. Then they 
pass as money anywhere in the country. If the bank 
should get in debt and fail in business the government 
would sell its bonds to someone else and get gold to ex- 
change for all the bills the bank has issued. This makes it 
perfectly safe to trust the paper money issued by any Na- 
tional Bank. 

73. States' Rights. What are the relations of a state 
to the Union? This question has made much trouble. At 
one time some of the states said that the Constitution is 
a contract between the states ; that Congress have no right 
to pass any laws except such as the states say they may 

73. What did the people in the South say about 
states' rights? Has a state a right to leave the Union? 
What kind of laws does Congress make? Who must decide 
if there is a dispute about a law? 



72 AMERICAN HISTORY 



pass ; and if Congress should make a law that the states 
have not given them permission to make any state could 
refuse to obey it. Most of the people who said this lived 
in the Southern states and at one time when the people of 
South Carolina did not like a tariff law that Congress had 
made the government of that state refused to pay the taxes 
and would not obey the law. 

President Jackson prepared to send soldiers to make 
them pay the taxes. Congress wanted to prevent blood- 
shed and passed a law gradually reducing the taxes each 
year for ten years. South Carolina then obeyed the law, 
but the question of states' rights was not settled. In 1860 
when South Carolina feared that Congress and President 
Lincoln would make laws unfavorable to slavery she 
claimed the right to secede, or leave the Cnion. Ten other 
slave states claimed the same right and these eleven states 
tried to leave the Union and form a new government. So 
the states' rights question as well as the slavery question 
had to be settled by war. The states had to remain in the 
Union. 

To-day it is understood that no state can leave the 
Union or decide for itself what kind of laws Congress shall 
make. Congress makes all the National laws. All the 
state laws are made by the states themselves. Xcither can 
interfere with the rights of the other. In case of doubt 
or dispute about these rights the Supreme Court of the 
United States must be the judge to decide all (|uestions. 

74. Other Questions, ^lany great questions arc yet 
unsettled. Men do not agree about the tariff. The tom- 



74. WHiat are some of the greatest questions now to 
be settled? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 73 

perance question, how to prevent drunkenness and all the 
poverty, crime, and suffering caused by it, is very import- 
ant. The labor question, how to make lav.s to prevent 
trouble between workmen and those who employ them and 
to make sure that all are treated fairly is one of the great- 
est questions of this new century. Every good citizen 
should study all these questions carefully in order to help 
settle them rightly and for the good of all. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 

75, Causes. Why did the men who lived in some of 
the Southern States and kept slaves fight against the men 



Civil War Map.— The United States in ISW. 

Union States are plain white. 

Seven States that seceded before the attack on Fort Sumter are marked * ♦ * * 

Four States that seceded after the attack on Fort Sumter are marked 

Indian Territory, which was controlled by the Confederacy, is marked 1 . . , . 
The area of the Territories under Union control is marked 2 . . . , 

■k Washington. • Richmond, (1) Bull Run. 

(2) Fort Sumter. (3) New Orleans. (4) Antietam. 

(.')) (iettysburg. (ti^ Vicksburg. {') Appomattox. 

in the Northern States who did not keep slaves ? Abraham 
Lincoln was elected President l)y the Republican party. 

75. What caused the Civil War? How many states 
seceded at first? What was the first battle of the war? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 75 

He and his party did not want slaves in any more new 
states. They wanted to keep slavery where it was. That 
meant in the Southern States. The Southerners were 
afraid that the Northerners would try to set their slaves 
free and the people in seven of the slave states voted that 
they would not be a part of the United States any longer. 
They said they would secede. This meant that they would 
leave the Union and make a new government of their own 
called the Confederate States of America. If they had a 
government all their own they thought the people of the 
North could not interfere. 

They selected the city of Montgomery, Alabama, to be 
their capital and elected Jefferson Davis to be their Presi- 
dent. President Lincoln and the people in the Northern 
States said they could not do this because they had no right 
to leave the Union. The Southerners took possession of 
the forts and United States property in their states. They 
meant to fight. 

Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, was 
still held by Union soldiers. These soldiers would soon 
starve unless some one sent them food. One ship (the 
Star of the West) that tried to carry them supplies had 
been fired upon and driven back by Southern soldiers. 
President Lincoln said he should send men and food to this 
fort. 

When the Southerners heard this they said they would 
capture the fort. They fired upon it and began a battle. 
The soldiers in the fort fought bravely. At last their food 
and powder were almost gone and the fort was on fire. 
They had to surrender. General Beauregard, the Con- 
federate General, let them go on board a Union ship which 
carried them to New York. 



76 AMERICAN HISTORY 

76. What Followed. All over the Southern States the 
people rejoiced. Four more states joined the Confederacy 
and they changed their capital. Instead of the city of 
jVIontgomery they now chose Richmond, ^^irginia. In the 
North men were ready to fight. 

The questions that must be decided were these : Shall 
the United States remain one Union or be divided into two? 
Shall part of the states have the right to leave the Union 
without the consent of the rest? Shall the majority of the 
people rule and elect the kind of President and make the 
kind of laws they want? 

President Lincoln called for 75,000 men to defend the 
Union. Soon twice that number were ready for war. Little 
did they know what kind of a war it was to be. They 
thought that in a few months the trouble would be over. 

Alas! \M-iat a mistake they made! The war lasted 
four years. Again and again the President called for more 
soldiers. Sometimes more than a million LTnion men were 
fighting. The South sent almost all her able bodied men 
and some of her old men and boys to fight against them. 
More than a quarter of a million men were killed on each 
side. Let us study a few of the great battles. 

77. Bull Run. The men in the Xorth wanted to cap- 
ture the Confederate capital. "On to Richiuond!" was 
their cry. General Irvin ^McDowell was at Washington to 
protect the capitol of the United States. With thirty thou- 
sand men he started for Richmond. Wlien they had gone 
about thirty miles they met General Beauregard and the 
Southern army near a litt'le river called Bull Run. The 

76. W'hat was the effect of the fall of Fort Sumter? 
What were the questions that must be decided? 

77. Describe the battle of Bull Run? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



Union soldiers rushed upon the Southerners and drove 
most of them from their places. Only the men under Gen- 
eral Jackson did not run. Then General Bee, a Southern 
officer, cried to his men, "Look at Jackson's Brigade! It 
stands like a stone wall !" The soldiers stopped running 
and began to fight again. General Johnson and another 
Southern army came just in time to help them. They 
drove all the Union army before them and won a victory. 
The Northern men ran back to Washington as fast as they 
could go. 

What joy in the South! ^^'hat sorrow in the North! 
\\'hat fear at Washington ! Perhaps the Southern army 
would attack the city. But they did not. Too many of 
their men were killed or wounded. What was the North to 
do? General George B. McClellan had won some victories 
in West Virginia and saved it for the Union. He was 
made commander and told to drill a new army at Washing- 
ton. 

78. Driving Back the Confederates. While McClellan 
was drilling his men the other Northern Generals tried to 
drive back the Confederates. General Thomas drove them 
out of eastern Kentucky and General Grant went to cap- 
ture their forts in Tennessee. 

At Fort Donelson the Southern General, after fighting 
three days, asked General Grant what terms he would give 
him to surrender. General Grant replied, "No terms ex- 
?ept unconditional and immediate surrender can be ac- 
cepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." 
The General surrendered the fort and over twelve thou- 
sand soldiers. 

It was now the North's turn to rejoice. The Union 

78. Who captured Fort Donelson? 



78 AMERICAN HISTORY 

army soon chased the Southerners out of Western Tenn- 
essee and toiA- possession of the upper part of the Missis- 
s\pp\ River. 

79. New Orleans. New Orleans was the city where 
the Southerners sent their cotton to be shipped away. It 
would be a great victory if the Union arm could capture 
this city. Captain Farragut was sent with his gun-boat 
to take it. General Butler went with an army to help him. 
rhey found two great iron chains stretched across the 
river. Above the chains were two strong forts and the 
river was full of gun-boats. For six days Farragut's boats 
threw shot and shell into the forts. The forts tried to 
sink his boats. Then he cut the chains, rushed up the 
river, destroyed the Southern gunboats, and took the city. 
It was a brilliant victory. It helped the North and hurt 
the South in many ways. 

One way was by its effect on England and France. The 
South had hoped that both these nations would help them 
stop the war and break up the Union. Now that hope was 
gone. Their chance of winning was so poor that they could 
not get other nations to help them openly. But many Eng- 
lishmen helped them secretly. They wanted them to win ; 
they wanted their friendship : they wanted to buy their 
cotton. War ships were built in England to help the 
South and these ships cai)turc(l and destroyed many 
Northern vessels. 

\A'hen the war was over P^ngiand paid the United States 
fifteen million dollars to s'ettle for the damage these ships 
had done. 



79. llow was New Orleans captured? Which side 
did England help in the war? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 79 

80. The Blockade. The North did not want any na- 
tion to sell anything to the South ; so they tried to block- 
ade the Southern cities. This meant that Union warships 
were kept on the ocean all along the Southern coast to 
prevent vessels from going to Southern cities. The South- 
erners would wait for a dark night. Then one of their 
ships would try to steal by the Northern ships and go to 
sea with a load of cotton. If this ship was not captured, 
it would go to one of the West India Islands and sell its 
cotton to an English ship and buy all sorts of goods that 
had been brought from England. Then it would sail back 
and wait for another dark night to steal into its own harbor 
again. 

81. The Merrimac and the Monitor. Running the 
blockade was ver}^ dangerous and the Southerners could get 
only a small part of the things they needed. They made 
up their mind to "break the blockade." All the warships 
in the world were then made of wood. They said they 
would have one of iron. There was a Union ship at Nor- 
folk which the Union men had sunk when the war began, 
to keep it from being of use to the Southerners. They 
raised this, covered it with iron, and fastened a great iron 
beak, called a ram, to its bow. They thought they were 
ready to break the blockade. Some warships were near by 
in Hampton Roads. They would destroy these first : so 
they started for the Cumberland, one of the finest of them 
all. They drove the great iron ram into her side and made 
a great hole. The water poured in and she -/ent to the 
bottom. Then the Merrimac destroyed the Congress and 

80. What was meant by the blockade ? 

81. Describe the battle between the Merrimac and the 
Monitor, ^^^lat effect did it have on the navies of the 
world ? 



80 AMERICAN HISTORY 

the Southerners thought they had done enoug^h for one day. 
The next day they would go forth and break the blockade. 

But that night another iron ship arrived. The Union 
men had built one too. It was called the ^Monitor. It 
looked like "a cheese box on a raft," but the "cheese box" 
was made of iron and in it were two immense guns that 
could be pointed in any direction. 

The next day when the Merrimac went to destroy the 
rest of the Union ships she met the ^Monitor. For four 
hours each fired shots against the other. Then the Merri- 
mac went home. The Monitor could not sink her but it 
could prevent her from hurting the other ships. 

The South now knew that they could not break the 
blockade. They were too poor to build iron ships but the 
North were rich enough to build as many Monitors as they 
needed. That battle changed all the navies in the world. 
Since that time every nation has built its warships of iron 
and steel. 

82. The Peninsular Campaign. McClellan had now 
drilled his army and was ready to try to take Richmond. 
He took his army to the peninsula between the York and 
James Rivers and started for that city. He fought his way 
almost there but failed to reach it. He was then called 
back to \\'ashington. 

83. Antietam. General Lee, the head of the Southern 
army, now saw his chance to go North. From Richmond 
he started for Maryland. On the way he defeated a North- 
ern army under General Pope. There was great excite- 
ment and fear at Washington. General McClellan was 
ordered to take both his own army and General Pope's 

82. What was the result of the Peninsular Campaign? 

83. Describe the battle of Antietam. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 81 



army and go after Lee. He overtook him at Antietam, 
beat him in a bloody battle, and drove him back into \^ir- 
^inia. 

84. Emancipation. The battle of Antietam made 
President Lincoln free the slaves. For a long time many 
men in the North had said that he ought to do this. He 
had a right to do it because he was Commander-in-chief of 
the army and the owners of the slaves were fighting against 
the army. He said he would do it if the Northern army 
won this battle. 

When he heard of McClellan's victory he gave the 
Southerners one hundred days' notice. If they did not stop 
fighting by the end of that time he would make their slaves 
free. The hundred days were up on January L 1863. The 
Southerners were still fighting ; so he issued a statement 
called the Emancipation Proclamation. This told them 
that all their slaves were free persons. 

Of course he could not make them actually free on that 
day, but he meant that he gave them the right to be free 
and they would be free just as soon as the LTnion army 
could conquer their masters and make them so. There 
were a few Southern States that did not fight against the 
LTnion. President Lincoln said nothing about the slaves 
in those states. He could not set them free because their 
masters were not at war with the United States. 

85. Gettysburg. Six months after President Lincoln 
had made the slaves free General Lee saw another chance 



84. What gave President Lincoln the right to free the 
slaves? When did he issue the Emancipation Proclama- 
tion? 

85. Why did General Lee start north? Where did he 
fight a great battle with the Union Army? Describe the 
battle. 



82 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



to go against the North. He had just beaten the Union 
army twice. I'^irst at I-'redericksburg in X'irginia and then 
at Chancellorsvillc near by. These victories filled the 
South with hope. Now if Lee could go North and capture 
some large city they thought President Lincoln would have 
to make peace. Lee was soon in Pennsylvania with his fine 
army of seventy thousand men. General Meade was sent 



I 




Natii)nal Monument at (iettysburK. 

to stop him with ninety thousand l^nion soldiers. They 
met at Gettysburg. Two days they fought and neither side 
won. On the third day the armies faced each other from 
two long hills with a valley between them. In front of 
each army was a long line of cannon. When all was ready 
the battle began. For two hours more than two hundred 
canncMi roared and sent death across the valley. Then the 



AMERICAN HISTORY 83 

best part of the Southern army started to drive the Union 
army from their hill. They got half way across the valley 
when the Union army turned their guns upon them. They 
mowed them down like grass. The living filled up the 
gaps where the dead had fallen and rushed on and up the 
hill to fight the Union soldiers hand to hand. The struggle 
w^as soon over. The Union army had won and the South- 
ern army, what was left of it, went back to Virginia. Each 
army had lost more than twenty thousand men. 

Gettysburg was the greatest battle of the war. It is 
sometimes called the "turning point". After this there was 
little hope that the South could win but they kept on fight- 
ing. 

86. Vicksburg. The next day after the battle of Get- 
tysburg another great victory brought joy to the North. 
This was at Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. We have 
already learned how the Union armies first took possession 
of the upper Mississippi and then captured New Orleans, 
but Vicksburg was between these two and it was held by 
Southerners. It had strong forts and many soldiers. This 
city must be captured before Union vessels could go up 
and down the river. General Grant went to take it. 

After more than four months of hard work and terrible 
fighting he drove a large Southern army inside the city and 
attacked the city itself. For seven weeks his cannon sent 
shot and shell into the city day and night. The houses 
were shot to pieces and the people lived in caves and holes 
dug in the ground. Their food was gone and they killed 
their mules and ate them. In a little while they would 
have starved General Grant's men dug under one side of 

86. What happened at Vicksburg? 



84 AMERICAN HISTORY 

their fort and then blew it up with powder. His army was 
getting ready to fight its way inside when the Southerners 
raised white flags which meant that they would surrender. 
General Pemberton, the commander, surrendered the city 
and his great army of nearly thirty thousand men. A few 
days later the Union army had control of the whole length 
of the Mississippi. 

87. The Great Campaign. The next spring General 
Grant was made Lieutenant-General, a higher position than 
was held by any other Union General. He planned the last 
great campaign. The South had two more large armies to 
conquer. One was General Johnson's army at Dalton, 
Georgia. The other was General Lee's army which had 
been in \"irginia ever since the battle of Gettysburg. Gen- 
eral Grant decided that he must keep these two armies 
apart and beat them one at a time. He sent General Sher- 
man to conquer Johnson while he went after General Lee. 

88. What Sherman Did. lie started for Dalton with 
one hundred thousand men. Stej) by step he drove the 
Southern army toward Atlanta. Again and again they 
turned and fought. Four months of fighting brought them 
to Atlanta. This city had many factories making supplies 
for the Southern army. When their General saw that he 
must loose the city he blew up the powder magazines and 
then escaped with his army. General Sherman captured 
Atlanta and started for Savannah. For weeks no one in 
the North knew what he was doing. On Christmas eve 
President Lincoln received a 'telegram which read : 



87. Who was made the head of the army? What did 
he plan to do? 

88. What was done by General Sherman ? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 85 



"Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1864. 
"To his Excellency, President Lincoln, Washington, D. C. 
"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Sa- 
vannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty 
of ammunition ; also about twenty-five thousand bales of 
cotton. 

"W. T. SHERMAN. Major General." 

How the President rejoiced! But what was General 
Grant doing? 

89. What Grant Did. He led his army into the great 
forest, called the Wilderness, that was between him and 
Richmond. Here he fought battle after battle in the woods. 
Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost, but he did not stop. 
He wrote to another General, "I propose to fight it out on 
this line if it takes all summer." It took almost a year. 
In April, 1865, General Lee left the city of Richmond and 
the Union army marched in. Then they hurried on to 
catch General Lee. Seventy-five miles to the west they 
overtook him at the village of Appomattox. Here he sur- 
rendered his brave but almost starved army to General 
Grant and the last great struggle of the Civil War was at 
ar end. 

90. The Grand Review. The war was over ana the 

LTnion was saved. A million Union soldiers were ready to 
go home. But first there was to be a grand parade and 
review in the city of Washington. The President, Con- 
gress, and thousands of their friends from home were there 
to greet them. Two days the great army was passing down 
Pennsylvania Avenue, forming a procession thirty miles in 

89. What was done by General Grant? 

90. Describe the Grand Review of the Union Army. 



S6 AMERICAN HISTORY 

length. Then the vast throng was gone. They had gone 
to their homes, their farms, their shops, their offices, to 
take up again the work they laid down when called to the 
war. 

91. Reconstruction. After the war there must be 
peace. How was it to be made? It took four years to de- 
cide just how the South and the North should agree to 
live again under the same flag, but at last all the states 
agreed to send men to Congress and to belong to the Union 
as they had done before the war. 

Three new- amendments to the Constitution were made. 
They were numbered thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. 

The first made all the slaves in the Union free. Their 
number was about. four millions. 

The second gave them the rights of citizens. This 
means that the laws will protect them the same as they 
do white citizens. 

The third amendment gave them the same right to vote 
that white people have. When all these questions were 
settled the North and the South began to forget the trouble 
they had had. To-day they are all brothers. All belong 
to the same Union, the same flag waves over all, and all 
love the country that is their common home. 

91. What amendments to the Constitution were made 
after the war? What do they mean? 



THE ERA OF EXPANSION. 

Since the Civil War the growth of business in the United 
States has been wonderful. Let us notice a few great 
changes. 

92. New Mines. Just before the war began new^ gold 
mines were discovered in Colorado and silver mines in 
Nevada. Thousands of people rushed there hoping to get 
rich. Large towns and cities w^ere built in a few months. 
Other mines were soon found in Montana and Idaho. 

A great region that had been only a desert before Avas 
now immensely rich. The mines added great wealth to the 
country and made several new states that have joined the 
L^nion. 

93. Railroads. New England and the East were full 
of factories. The mountains farther West were full of coal 
and iron. Beyond the mountains was one of the largest 
and best farming regions in the world. Beyond this were 
the mines of gold and silver. In the South was the land of 
cotton, the greatest cotton country of the world. 

One thing was needed. That was railroads to connect 
these parts of the country. How to build them was one of 
the first great questions after the war. 

To help build roads across the country the government 
lent different companies money and gave them land in the 

92. Where were new mines discovered just before the 
war? The result? 

93. What caused new railroads to be built? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



West. The Union Pacific road was started west from 
Omaha. The Central Pacific started east from Sacramento 
on the Pacific coast. These two roads met in Utah and con- 
nected the East and the West in 1869. Soon many other 
roads were running east and west across the country. 

James J. Hill built one called the Great Northern to 
carry lumber from the Pacific coast to the East. He car- 
ried back to the Pacific cotton and wheat and sent these 
across the ocean to Japan and China. His success is one 
of the wonders of commerce. 

94. Steel Making. There was so much freight to carry 
over the new roads that the railroad companies needed more 
cars with larger and faster engines. But these would ruin 
the iron rails and spoil the tracks. 

What could they do? A new and cheap way to make 
steel (called the Bessemer process) had just been found out. 
They would make the rails of steel. 

The first steel rails were made in Chicago in 1865. 

Next thev used the same kind of steel to make boilers 
for the engines. One engine could now haul twice as many 
cars and go twice as fast as before. This made it easy for 
the railroads to do much more business. It also made a 
great deal of work for miners and steel-makers. 

The best ore for making steel is found south of Lake 
Superior. These mines have helped make the United States 
the greatest steel-making country in the world. 

95. A New Navy. The growth of trade and the pro- 
tection of commerce and other interests of the people needed 

94. How did steel-making help the railroads? 
93. Why did the United States want a new and larger 
navy? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 89 

a new navy. Twenty years after the Civil War our navy 
was very weak. There were only a few poor monitors and 
old steamboats. William C. W'hitney, Secretary of the 
Navy, wanted Congress to vote money for some new steel 
vessels. Three new ships were built. 

Since then we have been building hundreds of war ves- 
sels and to-day we have a strong navy. More warships an 
being built to protect our people and their trade in every 
part of the world. 

96. Tne War With Spain. In 1898 something hap- 
pened that showed the United States that it is a good thing 
for the country to have a strong navy. We got into a war 
with Spain. This war was caused by trouble in Cuba. 

Cuba was owned and governed by Spain. Spain sent 
over officers and soldiers to manage the affairs of the 
island. Many of these Spanish officers treated the Cubans 
cruelly, but the Cubans had to obey them and pay heavy 
taxes. They suffered so much that they tried again and 
again to get free from Spain. In 1895 they made a hard 
fight for freedom. They declared themselves free and 
formed a republic. Spain sent over a large army to conquer 
them. Many were killed. Thousands were shut up in 
camps without food and starved to death. 

The people of the L^nited States sent money to help the 
starving Cubans. Congress voted fifty thousand dollars to 
aid them. 

Many Americans lived in Cuba. Their business was 
being ruined and their property was being destroyed. 

These things led the United States to try to make peace 
between Spain and Cuba. They failed in this and the war 

96. What caused a war with Spain? In what year? 
What happened to the Maine ? 



90 AMERICAN HISTORY 

went on. Spain was angry because the L'nitecl States sent 
food to the dying Cubans. 

In 1898 the L'nited States sent a warship called the 
Maine to look after our interests in Cuba. This ship was 
blown up in the harbor of Havana. Two hundred and 
sixty-six sailors were killed. Nobody knew who caused the 
ship to blow up, but the Americans believed that the 
Spaniards were to blame for it. 

A few weeks later Congress voted that Cuba ought to be 
free. They also told President McKinley to drive Spain 
out of Cuba if she did not stop fighting the Cubans. That 
meant war. In a few weeks President McKinley had raised 
a large army of volunteers and was ready. Most of the 
fighting, however, was done by the navy. 

97. Manila Bay. Commodore George Dewey was near 
China with a tieet of warships. He was told to go to the 
Philippine Islands to capture some Spanish war ships that 
were there. He sailed to the harbor of Manila, where he 
attacked the Spaniards, May 1, 1898. In four hours he had 
destroyed eleven Spanish warships and had not lost a single 
man. This victory excited the whole world. Commodore 
Dewey was made an Admiral. More soldiers were sent to 
help him and in a few weeks he took possession of the 
Philippine Islands. 

98. Santiago. There was another Spanish fleet in the 
West Indies. Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley 
went to capture it. They found it at Santiago. 

The Spanish ships tried to escape. The American ves- 
sels chased them and fired upon them. After four hours 

97. What took place in Manila Bay? 

98. What took place at Santiago? \Miat was the 
result of the war? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 91 

of fighting all the Spanish ships were wrecks. The Amer- 
ican vessels were little damaged. 

American soldiers led by General Shafter then captured 
the city of Santiago. General Miles and another army soon 
afterward conquered the island of Porto Rico. 

Spain was beaten. Her power in America was gone. 
She was ready to make a treatv of peace. This was done 
and Cuba became free. 

Porto Rico, the Philippines, and some other islands in 
the Pacific were given to the United States. The United 
States paid Spain twenty million dollars. 

99. Trouble in the Philippines. About 8,000,000 people 
live in the Philippine Islands. Some are civilized. Most 
of them are savage or partly civilized. The--- tried to drive 
out the Americans and there was much fighting for about 
two vears. At last their leader, Aguinaldo, was captured 
and the^- stopped fighting. 

A new government was formed for them by the Amer- 
icans. The natives support this loyallv. They are now 
building roads, learning better ways of larming, and sen.i- 
ing their children to school. Many hundred American 
teachers have gone there to help teach them. 

100. The Boxer War. In 1900 there was trouble in 
China. A secret societ" called the Boxers tried to murder 
all the foreigners in the country. Thev thought that some 
of these foreigners had treated them unfairly in trade and 
mecialed with their affairs. 

The United States sent an army there to rescue the 
Americans. European soldiers ioined them on their way 

99. What trouble occurred in the Philippines? What 
is said about the new government of the islands? 
100. What was the Boxer War? 



92 AMERICAN HISTORY 

to Peking, the Chinese Capital. They rescued the Euro- 
peans and Americans and made the Chinese pay for the loss 
of life and property that they had caused. 

101. Since the Boxer War. The United States now has 
great influence in the far East. The Chinese feel that the 
United States treated them fairly in the settlement of the 
Boxer troubles. 

Tn 1905 President Roosevelt used his influence to make 
peace between Japan and Russia, when those nations had 
carried on a terrible war for many months. This gained 
the respect of the world for our country. 

Our influence and our possessions in the Pacific lead us 
to believe that in a few years we shall be carrying on an 
enormous business with China and other countries in that 
part of the world. 

102. Immigration. The Immigration Question is one 
of the great questions in the United States. The chance to 
have a better home and live a happier life brings millions 
of foreigners to America. They have been coming for a 
hundred years, but at first the number was very small. In 
1820 eight thousand came from Europe. For many years 
a few thousand came each year. By 1842 there were over 
one hundred thousand who came in a single year. In 1850 
over three hundred thousand came from the old world. 
Since then the number has increased in "good times." In 

101. Why has the United States increased in influence 
in the far East? 

102. Why do so many immigrants come to America? 
About how many have come each year since 1905? What 
kind of immigrants are welcomed ? What kind are not 
w^anted? What is the government doing to help the immi- 
grants ? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 93 

years when business was not so good fewer would come 
and some would return to their former homes. 

In 1905 and 1906 over one million came each year. 

For the vear ending June 30, 1907, the number was 
1,285,349, the largest number that ever came in one year. 
The largest number from one country was 285,731, from 
Italy. The next largest number was 258,943 from Russia. 
The rest came mainly from other countries of Europe with 
some from the countries north and south of the United 
States and some from Asia. Thirty thousand, one hundred 
twenty-six came from Japan. 

The total number from 1820 to 1907 was 25,318.067. 
Most of these came to make their homes here, to engage in 
useful labor, and to become good American citizens. All 
such are gladly welcomed by Americans. We do all we 
can to help them learn our language, ovir customs, and our 
laws. 

Sometimes criminals and others who will not make good 
citizens try to come. These we do not want. Congress 
has made laws to help the kind of immigrants that make 
good citizens and to keep out those that ought not to come 
here. 

The immigration officers must examine all persons who 
come to this country. Those who have serious physical de- 
tects or disease are sent back to the country from which 
they came. The steamship company that brings them over 
must carrv them back free of charge. Idiots, insane per- 
sons, paupers, beggars, criminals, polygamists, anarchists, 
and other persons whose past lives show that thev are not 
likelv to be good citizens are not allowed to land. They 
are sent back home. 

Another class of people w ho can not come to this coun- 



94 AMERICAN HISTORY 

try is "contract laborers." These are people who have been 
persuaded to come here by men who promise to hire them 
to work. 

The government employs men to help the immii;ranls 
go where they can find work and good homes. Every im- 
migrant must pay a tax of four dollars, called a head tax. 
This is used to pay the expense of what the government 
does to ludp them. 

103. The Civil Service. For more than fifty years be- 
fore 1883 almost everybody who held any United States 
office had to belong to the political party that was in 
power. 

Onlv the higher officers are elected by the votes of the 
people. The President either alone or with the help of 
Congressmen and other men of great influence had to ap- 
point many thousands of revenue collectors, mail clerks, 
and government clerks and officers. This work took a great 
deal of the President's time. 

Many of the officeholders did not give the people good 
service because they worked for the party that gave them 
office when they ought to work for the good of all 
the people. Bad men who could not get the offices they 
wanted often caused a great deal of trouble. In 1881 one 
of these men shot President Garfield. In 1883 Congress 
decided to put a stop to this evil. A Civil Service law^ was 
passed allowing the President to have most of these offices 
filled by those who passed examinations show^ing that they 
were fitted to hold the offices they wanted. Now more than 

103. How were almost all government positions for- 
merly filled? What change was begun in 1883? Why? 
^^'hat good has been done bv the Civil Service Law? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 95 

100,000 of these offices are filled by examinations. The ex- 
aminations show whether the men who take them know 
how to do the work required or not. 

The men who give the examinations are not allowed to 
ask any questions about a man's politics or religion. All 
parties and all churches must ha\'e the same rights. 

Such positions as those of superintendents, clerks, and 
employees of the Railway Mail Service, letter carriers in 
cities, and revenue collectors, government clerks, and em- 
ployees of many kinds, depend UDon examinations and are 
eagerly sought by young men who have the necessary edu- 
cation with good character, good habits, and ability to 
work. 

The Civil Service Law has done a great deal of good. 
The people get better service, and a good man can not be 
turned out of office in order to make a place for somebody 
else jimply because that somebody else belongs to the party 
in power. 

Some of the states are also beginning to have State 
Civil Service Laws to select men for public positions. New 
York and Massachusetts havo such laws, and Wisconsin 
and Illinois appoint some of their city off'icers in the same 
way. 

104. The Secret Ballot. It used to be the custom for 
voters to place their ballots in the ballot boxes openly. 
That is, everybodv who wisheu could watch them and see 
what kind of a ticket they voted. Sometimes the ballots 
of one party were on a different colored paper from the 
laallots of another party, in order to make it easy to tell 
how a man voted. 

This was a great evil. It made it eas^' for bad politicians 
to bribe voters by giving them money to vote their ticket. 



104. Whv is the secret ballot a good thing? 



96 AMERICAN HISTORY 

Laws have now been passed nearly everywhere in the 
United States requiring voters to cast their ballots secretlv. 
Each voter must take his ballot into a booth where no one 
can see him, and there he puts it into an envelope or marks 
it, whichever the law in his state says. Then he comes out 
of the booth and drops it into the ballot box without letting 
any one see which party he is voting for. 

This way of voting has done a great deal to make elec- 
tions fair and honest. Every man can vote as he wishes 
without fear of being troubled by others who wish him to 
vote their ticket. 

105. The Monroe Doctrine. This doctrine was de- 
clared to the world by President Monroe. It seems to be- 
long to an earlier era than the present, but it has had so 
much to do with our growth and expansion that we men- 
tion it here. 

Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of 
Waterloo in 1815. He had done much to make the people 
of Europe dissatisfied with their kings and rulers. Soon 
after the battle of Waterloo the rulers of Austria, Prussia, 
and Russia, who had helped defeat Napoleon, made a new 
league called the "Holy Alliance."' The object of this 
alliance was to put down uprisings among the people when 
they tried to form popular governments. The kings feared 
the i:>eoplc would try to choose their own rulers and make 
their own laws. In case of trouble with the people these 
kings would send their armies to help one another. 

105. What was the Holy Alliance? What did the 
allies plan to do in America? What did President Monroe 
say? What has the Monroe Doctrine helped to do? What 
have made America's past history glorious? What are 
needed to make her future more glorious? 



AMERICAN HISTORY 97 

Mexico and several South American countries had just 
turned their Spanish governors out of office and elected 
officers of their own. They declared themselves free from 
Spain and said they were going to be republics. The "Holy 
Alliance" began to talk of helping Spain to conquer these 
countries again. 

Russia owned Alaska. She began to try to get more 
land on the Pacific coast of America. She claimed Oregon 
and tried to make settlements on the coast of California, 
which then belonged to Mexico. 

The United States saw that if European nations were 
allowed to interfere in affairs in America they would make 
no end of trouble. So President Monroe sent a message 
to Congress in 1823 in which he said that the American 
continents are not to be "considered as subjects for future 
colonization by any European powers" ; that we should 
consider it "dangerous to our peace and safety," if the 
Allied Powers attempted "to extend their systems of gov- 
ernment to any part of this hemisphere"; and that any at- 
tempt made by the European nations to conquer or control 
independent countries in America (Mexico and the South 
American Republics) would be considered the manifesta- 
tion of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." 

President Monroe's statement was heeded by Europe. 
The Holy Alliance did not meddle in America and Russia 
gave up trying to make settlements in California. 

The Monroe Doctrine has helped settle many troubles 
in the New World. About the time of the Civil War France 
took possession of the government of Mexico. When the 
war was over and the United States could spare the soldiers 
they were sent to help the Mexicans drive out the French. 
The French went home leaving Mexico free again. 



98 AMERICAN HISTORY 

111 1893 England and Venezuela were in a dispute over 
a boundary line and England wanted to take by force some 
land claimed by Venezuela. The United States said this 
must not be done and the dispute was settled l)y arbitra- 
tion. 

It was the ■Monroe Doctrine that kept European nations 
from interfering with the afifairs of Cuba, when the I'nited 
States helped Cuba to get free from Spain in 1898. 

The Monroe Doctrine led the L'nited States to take con- 
trol of the Panama Canal, it is now recognized and re- 
spected by all the great powers of the world. It is under- 
stood that the United States is the country to settle ques- 
tions about American affairs. Europe does not interfere. 

Liberty, law and education ! These tell the story of 
America's glorious past. These are the hope of her more 
glorious future. 

From education come truth and knowledge, before whose 
light error and ignorance flee away carrying with them 
hate and strife. In their place comes the universal brother- 
hood of man, with faith and hope and love, the foundations 
of all greatness and all happiness. 

America is the inspiration of the world. Her civilization 
is fast becoming a model for all the nations of the earth. 
Like the rising of the sun, she is bringing light and joy 
to all. 



AMERICA'S DESTINY. 



We see glad gleamings of a brighter light than e'er earth 

saw before. 
Help and speed its coming, that its radiance full and free 

may pour 
O'er our new and wide horizon, o'er our islands of the sea, 
Scattering wrong's old darkness, ushering in the new day 
of the free. 

In this light we'll read our future, not by dim flickering 

torches of the past. 
Then, cherishing the fathers' virtues, go forward to new 

fields and duties vast. 
Welcome be the struggle arduous, freedom's price since 

days of yore ! 
Struggle strengthens life and manhood. When it ceases, 

life is o'er. 

Pointing onward, upward, toward the higher destiny of man, 

In the march of nations, be America the leader of the van. 

Star of hope and pledge of progress, be her banner high un- 
furled. 

Deliverer, teacher, guardian, be her name the glory of the 
world. 



100 



AMERICAN HISTORY 



LIST OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



NO. NAME. 

1. George Washington, 

2. John Adams, 

3. Thomas Jefferson, 

4. James Madison, 

5. James Monroe, 



John Quincy Adams, 
Andrew Jackson, 
Martin Van Buren, 
William H. Harrison, 
John Tyler, 
James K. Polk, 
Zachary Taylor, 
Millard Fillmore, 
Franklin Pierce, 
James Buchanan, 
Abraham Lincoln, 
Andrew Johnson, 
Ulysses S. Grant, 
Rutherford B. Hayes, 
James A. Garfield, 



10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 



21. Chester A. Arthur, 

22. Grover Cleveland, 

23. Benjamin Harrison, 

24. Grover Cleveland, 

25. William McKinley, 

26. Theodore Roosevelt, 



ELECTED BY 

Whole People, 
Federalists, 
Democratic- 
Republicans, 
Democratic- 
Republicans, 
Democratic- 
Republicans, 
House of Rep. 
Democrats, 
Democrats, 
Whigs, 
Whigs, 
Democrats, 
Whigs, 
Whigs, 
Democrats, 
Democrats, 
Republicans, 
Republicans, 
Republicans, 
Republicans, 
Republicans, 

Republicans, 

Democrats, 

Republicans, 

Democrats, 

Republicans, 

Republicans, 



TERM OF OFFICE. 

2 terms; 1789-1797. 

1 term; 1797-1801. 

2 terms; 1801-1809. 
2 terms; 1809-1817. 

2 terms; 1817-1825. 

1 term ; 1825-1829. 

2 terms; 1829-1837. 
1 term; 1837-1841. 

1 month; 1841. 

3 yrs., 11 mos.; 1841-1845. 
1 term ; 1845-1849. 

1 yr., 4mos. ; 1849-1850. 

2 yrs., 8 mos. ; 1850-1853. 
1 term ; 1853-1757. 

1 term ; 1857-1861. 

1 term & 6 wks. ; 1861-65. 

3 yrs., 10.1 mos. ; 1865-69. 

2 terms; 1S()<)-1877. 
1 term ; 1877-1881. 

6 mos., 15 days, 1881. 

3 yrs., 5 mos. 15 days; 

1881-1885. 
1 term; 1885-1889. 
1 term; 1889-1893. 
1 term; 1893-1897. 
1 term; 6 mos., 10 days: 

1897-1901. 
began Sept. 14, 1901. 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY. 

106. If we study the map on the following- page we can 
easily understand why the islands of the West Indies, and 
the eastern parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada 
were the first parts of North America to be settled by white 
people. 

Columbus sailed across the Atlantic and discovered the 
West Indies. All the other Europeans who followed him 
explored the Atlantic coast and the valleys of the great 
rivers that flow into the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. 
Even after they found their way around South America 
and explored the Pacific coast Europeans did not care to 
settle there. 

There were two reasons why they settled on the Atlantic 
and not on the Pacific. First, the Atlantic was nearer. 
Second, it was easier to build homes, trade, and get a living 
near the Atlantic and the great rivers. The Atlantic coast 
had many good harbors ; the Pacific had only three, San 
Diego, San Francisco, and Puget Sound. 

On the Atlantic side the mountains are low and far 
back leaving from one hundred to two hundred miles of 
sloping country favorable for settlements, while the river 
valleys are even more favorable. On the Pacific side high 
mountains are near the coast. 

But the settlers on the Atlantic kept moving toward the 

106. Why did Europeans settle on the Atlantic coast 
before they settled on the Pacific? Why do the people of 
the United States want a canal across the Isthmus oi 
Panama ? 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 103 

west and to-day the whole country is settled. Great cities 
are on the Pacific as well as on the Atlantic. Railroads 
cross the country from ocean to ocean. Great ships sail 
from one coast to the other b^- .S^oing around South America. 

What a long journey these ships have to make! Ever 
since the country was first explored sailors have wished 
there might be a canal across the Isthmus of I*anama. 
This would save the journey around South America and 
would help every ship going from one coast of the Ignited 
States to the other. Ships from Europe to the Pacific 
coast, or from the Atlantic coast to China and other places 
in Asia would also save many thousand miles. 

In 1879 a French company began to dig the canal. Af- 
ter working nine years and spending $200,000,000 the 
French gave up the work. They had finished about one- 
third of it. 

In 1903 they sold all their right to the canal to the 
I'nited States which is now going to finish it. It will take 
several years' time and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. 
\\'hen finished it will run from Colon to Panama, a distance 
of forty-seven miles. 

The distance from New York to San Francisco around 
South America is now 14,840 miles. The distance between 
these cities by way of the canal will be 5,402 miles. This 
will save 9,438 miles. 



ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY. 

107. The Original Territory. The map on the opposite 
page shows us that when the United States made peace 
with England after the Revolutionary War its territory 
was entirely on the east side of the Mississippi River. It 
consisted of two parts. One part was the thirteen original 
states, all on the Atlantic coast. The other part was the 
public land owned by the United States government, lying 
between the thirteen states and the Mississippi River. All 
this land was afterward made into states and joined the 
Union with the other thirteen. 

108. The Louisiana Purchase. This great territory be- 
tween the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains 
was purchased from France by President Jefferson in 1803. 
The price paid was $15,000,000. 

109. Florida. After the Revolutionary War Spain 
owned Florida until 1819. Florida then included what is 
now known by that name and also a narrow strip extend- 
ing farther to the west. Under President Monroe the 
United States purchased this territory for $5,000,000. 

110. Texas, Texas joined the Union in a way which 
was then new. This territory was once a part of Mexico. 

107. How many states were there in the original terri- 
tory of the Union? Of what two parts did this territory 
consist? 

108. How was the Louisiana territory obtained? 

109. How was Florida obtained? 

110. How did Texas join the Union? 



106 AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 

Most of it was settled by people from the United States. 
These people had trouble with the Mexican government 
and fought to become free. When they won their freedom 
they asked the United States to annex them to the Union. 
Congress made them a state in 1845. 

111. Oregon. — The Oregon territory, between Califor- 
nia and Alaska, was claimed by both the United States and 
England. In 1846 the two countries agreed to divide the 
territory. The United States kept the southern part and 
the northern part was annexed to Canada. 

112. California. When Texas was annexed to the 
Union, the United States and Alexico disputed over the 
boundary line. They went to war and Mexico was de- 
feated. By the treaty of peace made in 1848 Mexico gave 
up her claim to the disputed territory and also sold to the 
United States a large tract of land called the California 
territory. The United States paid Mexico $15,000,000 and 
in addition $3,000,000 to American citizens to settle debts 
owed them by Mexico. 

113. The Mesilla Valley, Another dispute soon oc- 
curred between the United States and Mexico over the 
southern boundary of the California territory. In 1853 
they made another treaty to settle this dispute. The 
United States bought the Mesilla Valley south of the (Jila 
River and paid $10,000,000. 

114. Alaska. In 1867 William H. Seward, Secretary 
of State, arranged to purchase Alaska from Russia. The 
United States paid Russia $7,200,000. The country was so 

111. How was the Oregon territory obtained? 

112. How was the California territory obtained? 

113. Where is the Mesilla Vallev? 

114. How did the United States obtain Alaska? 



108 AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY • 

cold and desolate that many people thought it was not 
worth buying-. They called it "Seward's Folly." The cli- 
mate along the coast, however, is mild, and the country has 
proven to be rich in minerals and timber. Its mines have 
in one year produced more than enough gold to pay for it. 
Its fisheries and seals are very valuable. 

115. The Hawaiian Islands. \\ hen the war broke out 
in 1898 between the United States and Spain, the people 
of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean were trying 
to persuade the United States to annex them. They had 
been asking this for five years but it had not been done. 
After the battle of Manila Bay some of the most eminent 
men in the navy said that the islands would be very valu- 
able to the United States as a naval station. In July they 
were annexed. This was the first territory acquired by the 
United States at a distance from the mainland and marks 
the beginning of the country as a world power. 

116. Territory Acquired by the Spanish War. By the 
treaty of peace which closed the war with Spain in 18Q8, 
Spain gave to the United States the island of Porto Rico 
in the West Indies, the great group of Philippine Islands 
more than 400 in number in the Pacific ocean southeast of 
China; and the Island of Guam, about 100 miles in circum- 
ference, situated about 1.500 miles east of the Philippines. 

Early in the following year. 1899, the United States 
raised its flag on Wake Island, a rocky islet about one 
square mile in area 1.550 miles northeast of Guam. This 
island, before unoccupied by any nation, now became \'alu- 
able as a station on the route to the Philippines. 

115. How did the United States obtain the Hawaiian 
Islands? 

116. What territory did the I'nited States acquire as a 
result of the war with Spain? 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY lOJ) 

117. Tutuila. For ten years beginning in 1889 the Sa- 
moan Islands in the Pacific ocean were ruled by native 
chiefs under the control of England, Germany, and the 
United States. So many disputes and troubles arose that 
it seemed best to divide the islands and a treaty was made 
in December, 1899, giving Tutuila and a number of small 
islands to the United States. 

These island possessions of the United States afford her 
excellent opportunities to build stations and will doubtless 
be of great value in her trade with Asia. 

117. How did the United States get Tutuila? 



MAP OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The accompanying map shows us the United 
States as it is to-day. There are forty-six states and two 
territories (Arizona and New Mexico) besides the District 
of Columbia and Alaska. 

118. Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are in 
the eastern part of the United States and extend from Can- 
ada to within about two hundred miles of the Gulf of 
Mexico. These mountains are mostly low and are divided 
into many ranges by the river valleys. In New Hamp- 
shire they are called the White Mountains, in Vermont the 
Green Mountains, in New York the Adirondacks and the 
Catskills, while farther south are the Blue Ridge Moun- 
tains, the Alleghany ^Mountains, and the Cumberland 
Mountains. The highest peaks in the White Mountains 
are a little over one mile above the level of the sea. Mt. 
Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest peak of all is about 
one mile and a quarter in height. 

The Rocky Mountains cross the country from north 
to south at an average distance of about 800 miles from the 
Pacific coast. The highest peaks are about 14.000 feet 
above sea level. 

The California Mountains also cross the country from 
north to south ruTuiing along the Pacific coast. Mt. \Miit- 
ncy in California 14.900 feet high, is the highest peak. 

118. Locate the main mountain ranges of the United 
States. 




THE UNITLD S 




\TES 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 111 

119. Natural Divisions. The mountains divide the 
country into three principal sections. 

East of the Appalachian Mountains is the Atlantic slope 
with many small rivers furnishing' excellent water power 
for manufacturing. 

West of the Rocky Mountains is the Pacific Slope. 
Much of this land is a desert and was valuable in the past 
mainly for its mines of gold, silver, and other minerals, but 
portions of it are now made into good farming land by 
irrigation from the mountain streams. The northern part 
of the country west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade 
Alountains is covered with fine forests while the southern 
part is very fertile and farming is the main business. 

Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian 
Mountains is the Great Central Plain through which flow 
the great rivers, the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the 
Ohio. This is one of the richest farming regions in the 
whole world. 

On the northern border of the eastern half of the coun- 
try is a chain of five great inland seas forming the grandest 
group of lakes in the wdiole world. They are called the 
"Great Lakes." 

The states near them are rich in minerals and in farm- 
ing products. Many great cities are on their shores and 
in trade and commerce the Great Lake region is one of the 
busiest in America. 

The whole country is covered with a network of rail- 
roads. A few of the most important of the long lines called 

119. Into what three sections is the L'nited States 
tlivided b" the mountain ranges? Describe them. Where 
are the Great Lakes? What is said of railroads? 



112 AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 

"Trunk Lines" are marked on the map. Other Trunk 
Lines, branches, and separate short roads reach nearly every 
city and village in the United States. 

120. Canals. The Erie canal from Buffalo to Albany 
connects the Great Lakes with the Hudson River. The 
Saint Mary's Canal commonly called the "Soo" connects 
Lake Superior with Lake Huron. More tons of freight 
pass through this canal in a year than through any other 
canal in the world. The Delaware and Chesapeake Canal 
connects the Delaware River with Chesapeake Bay. Many 
other canals connect lakes and rivers and enable ships to 
pass around rapids. In the great western desert they are 
used to carry w-ater for irrigation purposes. 

121. Large Cities. The ten largest cities in the United 
States are : 

1. New York, which has 4,152,860 inhabitants. 

2. Chicago, which has 2,050,000 inhabitants. 

3. Philadelphia, which has 1,500,596 inhabitants. 

4. St. Louis, which has 750,000 inhabitants. 

5. Boston, which has 607,340 inhabitants. 

6. Baltimore, which has 560,000 inhabitants. 

7. Cleveland, which has 525,000 inhabitants. 

8. Cincinnati, which has 450,000 inhabitants. 

9. Buffalo, which has 400.000 inhabitants. 
10. Pittsburg, which has 400,000 inhabitants. 

120. Where is the Erie Canal? The Saint Mary's 
Canal? 

121. Where are the ten largest cities in the I'nited 
States? (See map.) 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 113 

122. Productions. Farming is carried on largely in the 
eastern part of the United States and near the Pacific coast. 
More people are engaged in farming than in any other oc- 
cupation. 

Three-fourths of the corn raised in the world is raised 
in the United States. The great corn belt lies in the north- 
ern part of the Mississippi volley. Illinois, Iowa, and Ne- 
braska are the three leading states. 

The United States raises one-fifth of the world's wheat 
crop. It is raised mainly a little farther north than corn. 
Kansas, Washington, and Nebraska are the leading states. 

Three-fourths of the world's cotton grows in the south- 
ern states. Texas, Mississippi, and Georgia are the lead- 
ing states. 

One-half of the hogs in the world are raised in the 
United States, largely in the grain growing sections. Illi- 
nois, Iowa, and Missouri take the lead. 

Texas, low^a, and Kansas lead in cattle raising. 

The great lumber regions are on the Pacific coast, in 
the Southern States, around the Great Lakes, and in Maine. 

The United States produces one-third the iron, one- 
third the coal, and one-fourth the gold and silver of the 
world. Minnesota and Michigan produce the most iron, 
Pennsylvania and Illinois the most coal, Colorado and Cal- 
ifornia the most gold, Colorado and Montana the most sil- 
ver. 

122. What part of the world's supply of corn is pro- 
duced in the United States? What part of the wheat? 
What part of the cotton? What part of the hogs? What 
part of the iron? What part of the coal? ^^'hat part of the 
gold and silver? 



114 AMERICAN (tEOGRAPHY 

123. Manufactures. In nianufacturin.e: the United 
States leads the world. Most of the manufacturing is done 
in cities and villages. About nine-tenths of it is done in 
the north-eastern quarter of the country. 

Clothing, boots, shoes, machinery, books, and paper are 
produced in New England. 

Iron and steel are manufactured between the coal pro- 
ducing states and the Great Lakes. 

Meat packing and the manufacture of flour are carried 
on in the up]:)er part of the Mississip])i valley. 

124. Commerce. If both domestic and foreign com- 
merce are considered, the United States has a greater com- 
merce than any other two countries. Large quantities of 
cotton, meat, breadstuffs, iron, steel, and kerosene, are sent 
to other countries. We import silk, wool, sugar, coffee, 
hides, and India rubber. 

125. Standard Time Belts. To avoid mistakes and 
trouble caused by the differences in time when one travels 
east and west, the railroad companies have divided the 
country into belts running north and south. 

The eastern portion of the country on both sides of the 
7.^th meridian sets all its clocks and watches to agree with 
the correct time of that meridian. This is called eastern 
time. 



123. What is the rank of the L^nited States as a manu- 
facturing nation? Where is manufacturing mainly carried 
on ? 

124. What is the rank of the United States in com- 
merce? Name some things t-hat the Ignited .states exports. 
Name some things that are imported. 

12.S. What is meant by Standard Time belts? Locate 
the belts. What must be done to our watches when we go 
from one belt to another? 



AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY 115 

The next belt is on both sides of the 90th meridian. All 
places in this belt have time just one hour earlier than 
eastern time. This is called central time. 

The next belt takes its time from the 105th meridian. 

The fourth belt is both sides of the 120th meridian and 
has Pacific time. 

When a person travels west he must set his watch back 
one hour when he passes from one belt into the next. When 
returning" he must set his watch one hour ahead. 

126. Population. At the close of the Revolutionary 
War there were about 4,000,000 people in the United States. 
Nearly all of these lived near the Atlantic coast. To-day 
the population is 80,000,000 and they are spread over the 
entire country. No other nation ever grew so rapidly. 
Millions of people from Europe and from Asia have crossed 
the ocean to find new homes under a free government in a 
country where land is cheap and the opportunities for earn- 
ing a living and acquiring property are better than can be 
found elsewhere. The northeastern portion of the country 
is very thickly settled. Large parts of the South and the 
great West are still but thinly settled. 

126. What was the population of the United States at 
the close of the Revolutionary War? What is the popula- 
tion now ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. 

127. The Constitution of the United States. The Con- 
stitution is the highest law in the United States. It tells 
what kind ol laws Congress can make and what are the 
rights of the people. If Congress or the legislature of any 
state makes a law of a kind that the Constitution forbids 
that law can not be enforced because the courts will not 
punish a man who disobeys such a law. If a law agrees 
with the Constitution all the courts in the Cnited States 
must punish people who disobey it ; so it is very important 
to know what the Constitution says. 

128. How the Constitution was made. \\^hen the 
thirteen United States became free from England after the 
Revolutionary War they had no good government. \\'hen 
the war was going on all the states had agreed to a set of 
laws called the Articles of Confederation. After the war 
the states had many troubles trying to live together accord- 
ing to these laws and they decided that they must make 
some changes. 

127. What is the highest law in the United States? 
What is said about any law that conflicts with the Constitu- 
tion of the United States? 

128. Why was a convention called in Philadelphia in 
1787? How many states sent, delegates ? What did they do? 
What was the Connecticut Compromise? What agreement 
was made about counting slaves? What agreement was 
made about taxing exports? About importing slaves? 
After the Constitution was made why was it sent to the 
states? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 117 

Virginia and Maryland were the first states to try to 
make a better law for their public affairs. They did not ex- 
pect to change the Articles of Confederation, but they needed 
some new law so that their people would not quarrel over 
trading on Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. They 
sent delegates to Alexandria, a few miles from Washing- 
ton's home. The delegates visited Washington to ask his 
advice. After talking with him they decided that the other 
states ought to be invited to send delegates to their con- 
vention, because all the states would be interested in any 
laws they might make about trade ; so an invitation was 
sent to all the states to send delegates to a ''trade conven- 
tion" to be held in the city of Annapolis, in Maryland. 

Only five states sent delegates and these delegates de- 
cided that it was of no use for them, or even for all the 
states together, to make new trade laws so long as they 
had no government that could enforce such laws. They 
said that they must change the Articles of Confederation 
in such a way as to give the government the right and the 
power to enforce new laws. They appointed another meet- 
ing, to be held in Philadelphia the next year (1787), and 
again sent invitations to all the states to send delegates to 
the convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. 

Twelve states (all but Rhode Island) sent delegates. 
There were fifty-five men in all and they were the best and 
wisest men that could be found for the work. They se- 
lected George Washington for President of the Convention. 
Then the delegates began to tell the convention what 
changes they thought ought to be made in their govern- 
ment. Most of them thought that the Articles of Confed- 
eration were so bad that it was foolish to try to do anything 
with them. They wanted an entirely new Constitution. 

Several plans were read. Finally a plan read by a dele- 



118 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

gate from Virginia and called the Virginia plan seemed to 
be the best of all. but even this one did not suit many of the 
delegates ; so they went to work to make such changes in 
it as they thought would make it better. 

They agreed to have a government with three depart- 
ments ; one department to make the laws, one to enforce 
the laws, and another to settle disputes about the laws and 
punish law-breakers. 

Before they could agree to the rest of the Constitution 
the delegates had to make three great compromises : — 

1. The Connecticut Compromise. The large states 
wanted to elect Congressmen, or lawmakers, according to 
the population. If a state was large it should have many 
Congressmen. If it was small it should have few. The 
small states said this was not fair. They wanted all states 
to be equal and have the same number of Congressmen. 
The Connecticut delegates advised that one body of law- 
makers should be elected by the states according to popula- 
tion. This was called the House of Representatives. 
Another body, called the Senate, should have two men 
from each state. Thus both the large and small states 
could be suited and these two bodies together could make 
the laws. This was agreed to. 

2. In counting the people to decide how many Con- 
gressmen a state should have, ought slaves to be counted? 
The states that had slaves said "Yes." The others said 
"No." They agreed to count three-fifths of the slaves and 
all the free people. 

3. The states that manufactured goods to sell in other 
countries did not want Congress to have the right to tax 
the goods that they exported for sale. The farmers of the 
Southern states wanted Congress to have the right to make 
such a tax. The Southern states also wanted the right to 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 119 

import slaves from Africa. The Northern states did not 
want them to buy any more slaves. They agreed that 
people who wanted slaves could import them for twenty 
years and that goods exported should never be taxed. 

It took the convention almost four months to make the 
Constitution. They began Mav 25, and finished September 
17, 1787. 

After it was finished it was sent to the states. If nine 
of the states voted for it their votes made it a law and those 
nine states would form a Union. In about a year eleven 
states had voted for it and the Union was formed. North 
Carolina joined the Union a few weeks later. Rhode Island 
joined about three years afterwards. All the thirteen states 
were now in the Union and the Constitution was the su- 
preme law for them all. 

129. Amendments to the Constitution. The Constitu- 
tion provides that changes may be made in it or additions 
made to it at any time by three-fourths of the states in the 
Union. Ten such additions were made very soon after the 
government was organized. One more was made in 1798 
and another in 1804. After the close of the Civil War three 
others were added in order to" prevent any more slavery 
in the United States and to give colored citizens the same 
rights that white citizens have. 

129. How many amendments have been made to the 
Constitution? 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Congress consists of a Senate and a House of Repre- 
sentatives. They hold their sessions, to make laws, in the 
Capitol in the city of ^^'ashino•ton. 

130. The House of Representatives. The people vote 
for members of the House of Representatives every two 
years. To be a Representative a man must be at least 
twenty-five years old and he must have been a citizen of 
the United States for seven years, or more, and he must 
have his home in the state that elects him. 

The number of Representatives that a state has depends 
upon the number of people that live in the state. Every 
ten years a census is taken, that is, the people are counted. 
Then Congress decides how many Representatives there 
shall be and divides the number of people by the number 
of Representatives. This tells how many people there 
must be for each Representative and each state knows how- 
many to vote for. 

The state is divided into as many congressional districts 
as it has Representatives and elects one man from each 
district. No matter how few people live in a state it must 
have at least one Representative. 

130. How often are Representatives elected? What are 
the requirements for a Representative? How is the num- 
ber of Representatives from each state decided? When are 
elections of Representatives held? How is a vacancy filled? 
What name is given to the presiding officer of the House of 
Representatives ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 121 

The election is held in most of the states on the Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November in the even years, as 
1908, 1910, etc. 

The Representatives take their office the odd year after 
they are elected and continue in ofifice until the fourth of 
March of the next odd year. When a Representative dies 
or there is a vacancy for any reason the Governor of his 
state orders a special election to choose another man to fill 
his place. The Representatives choose their own officers. 
Their president is called the Speaker of the House. 

131. The Senate. The Senate of the United States is 
composed of two Senators from each state. They are 
elected by the state legislatures and hold office for a term 
of six years. Their terms are so arranged that one third 
of them go out of office every two years. This plan makes 
it sure that two-thirds of the Senators shall always be men 
who have had experience in the Senate. 

To be a Senator a man must be at least thirty years old 
and he must have been a citizen of the United States for 
nine years, or more, and he must have his home m the state 
that elects him. 

The Vice-President of the United States is the President 
of the Senate. The Senators elect the rest of their own 
officers. They also elect one of their own members Presi- 
dent piro tempore and he presides when the Vice-President 
is absent. 

131. How many Senators has each state? How are 
they elected? How long is their term of office? How are 
their terms arranged? What are the requirements for a 
Senator? Who presides over the Senate? 



122 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

132. Meetings of Congress. The Constitution says 
"The Congress shall assemble at least onee in every year; 
and such ineeting- shall be on the first Monday in December, 
unless they shall, by law, appoint a dififerent day." 

Every two years there is a new Congress. This does 
not mean that all the old Congressmen go home and new 
men come to take all their places, but it does mean that the 
states elect their Representatives for two years at a time 
and when the two years are up the people must elect these 
men again or elect somebody else to fill their places. 

Also every two years one-third of the Senators go out 
of oflFice and the legislatures of their states must re-elect 
them or elect other men to fill their jilaces. 

The House of Representatives has to elect a new set of 
ofificers for itself every two years ; so, although a great 
many of the old Congressmen continue in ofifice for many 
years, there are always so many changes at the end of two 
years that it is right to say we have a new Congress. 

The term of Congress is from the fourth of March of 
one odd year, like 1907, or 1909, to the fourth of March of 
the next odd year. During this term Congress has two 
regular sessions. They meet on the first Monday in De- 
cember of the odd year and may hold meetings for a whole 
year, if they have business to do for so long a time. This 
is called the long session, though they usually go home 
some time in the spring or sjammer. 

132. When does Congress regularly meet? When does 
a term of Congress begin and end? How many regular 
sessions in a term of Congress? Who can call a special 
session oi Congress ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 123 

The second session begins on the first Monday in De- 
cember of the even year and must end by noon on the fourth 
day of the next March, because the Representatives' term 
of office ends then. The term of the new Congress begins 
the moment the old one ends, but they do not meet until 
the next December, unless there is special business for them 
to do. If there is need for them to meet the President of 
the United States can call them together at any time. Such 
a meeting is called a special meeting of Congress. 

133. Membership of Congress. Sometimes it happens 
that there is a dispute about the election of a Senator or a 
Representative. Two men both think that they have been 
elected to the same office. . The Constitution says: "Each 
house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qual- 
ifications of its own members" ; so in case of a dispute be- 
tween two men who claim to be Senators, the Senate de- 
cides which one shall have the office; if the dispute is be- 
tween two men who claim to be Representatives, the House 
of Representatives must decide which one shall have the 
office. 

134. Quorum. Neither house can do business unless 
a majority (more than half) of its members are present. If 
at any time there are not enough present to do business 
those who are there can send for the absent members and 
compel them to come, or suffer a penalty. 

135. Committees. Each member of Congress can not 
have time to examine and find out what ought to be done 

133. Who decides disputes about the election of Sena- 
tors and Representatives? 

134. How many persons does it take to do business in 
Congress ? 

135. What is the use of Committees in Congress? How 
many committees has each House of Congress? 



124 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

with every piece of business that Congress has to do ; so 
committees are appointed to help them and each committee 
examines one kind of business. There are committees on 
Commerce, on Agriculture, on Revenue (called Ways and 
Means in the House, and Finance in the Senate), on For- 
eign affairs, on Military affairs, on Naval affairs, etc. In the 
House there are 48 of these committees. In the Senate 
there are 32. These committees report to the rest of Con- 
gress and give them advice. In the House the committees 
are appointed by the Speaker. This makes him one of the 
most powerful and influential men in the world. The 
Senate committees are chosen by the Senators belonging to 
the political party that has the most Senators. 

136. Punishment and Expulsion. Each house of Con- 
gress can punish one of its members in such a way as they 
think proper, if that member is disorderly or hinders the 
rest from doing business. If a member of either house does 
anything so improper that the rest of the members think he 
ought not to be in Congress, he may be expelled, if two- 
thirds of the members vote against him. 

137. Freedom of Speech. Senators and Representa- 
tives when they are in Congress have the right to say what 
they believe and tell what they know about any matter of 
business that they may have to do. This is an important 
right, for it protects the Congressmen and gives them cour- 
age to say and do what they think is right. 

138. Salaries. The salaries of Senators and Represent- 
atives are paid by the United States, not by the states that 
send them to Congress. Each Senator and each Repre- 

136. When may members of Congress be punished or 
expelled? 

137. Why is freedom of speech important in Congress? 

138. What salaries are paid to Congressmen? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 125 

sentative is paid $7500 a year. The Speaker of the House 
of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the 
Senate each receives $12,000 a year. 

It costs a great deal of money to be a Congressman and 
live in Washington. It is said that many Congressmen 
spend much more than their salaries. Their best reward is 
not the money they receive. They enjoy the honor and hap- 
piness that come to them from making good laws to help 
the people. These are worth more than the money they 
get. 

139. How Laws Are Made. Let us see how Congress 
makes a law. Either the Senate or the House may begin 
the work. Suppose that the House begins it. First some 
Representative tells the House what kind of a law he wants 
made and gives them a written copy of it. This is called 
introducing a bill. The Speaker of the House orders the 
bill to be sent to the Committee that have charge of that 
kind of bills. The Committee examine the bill and tell the 
House whether they think it ought to be a law or not. If 
they think it should be made a law the clerk of the House 
has copies of the bill printed and gives a copy to each mem- 
ber of the House. Then the bill is read aloud twice to the 
House, usually on different days. This is to make sure that 
all the members know just what the bill is before they vote 
on it. If they do not like some part of it they can change 
it. This is called amending it. Then the clerk writes it in 
large plain letters. This is called engrossing it. The clerk 
then reads it the third and last time. After this the Speaker 
asks the members to vote. Those who wish the bill to be 
a law vote for it. If more vote for it than against it, it 
"passes" the House. Then it goes to the Senate, where the 

139. Describe the work of making a law? 



12(1 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

same things have to be done again. If it is passed by the 
Senate it is carried back to the House and "enrolled." This 
means that it is written on sheepskin, called parchment. 
The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate 
both sign it. Then it is sent to the President of the United 
States. If he thinks it ought to be a law he signs his name 
to it. 'I'liis makes it a law. After this the President gives 
it to the Secretary of State, who puts it away for safe 
keeping. 

If the bill had started in the Senate the same things 
would have been done, but the Senate would have done 
their part first and the House their part last. Of course, if 
either house \^oted against it, it could not be a law. 

140. The President's Veto. After Congress has passed 
a bill the President of the United States may think that it 
ought not to be a law. In that case he will not sign his 
name to it, but he will send it back to that house of Con- 
gress where it was introduced. He will also send a message 
telling why he thinks it ought not to be a law. This is 
called vetoing the bill. If two-thirds of the members of 
each house of Congress still think that it ought to be a law, 
and they vote for it again, it will be a law without the 
President's name on it, but if two-thirds of the members of 
each house do not vote for it, it can not be a law. 

141. Ten Days for Vetoing Bills. The Constitution 
gives the President ten days after he receives a bill to de- 

140. What is meant by the President's veto? How- 
may a law be made if the President will not sign it? 

141. How long can the President take to decide 
whether or not he will sign a bill? What happens if the 
time runs out and the President does not act? What hap- 
pens if Congress adjourns before the time is up? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 127. 

cide whether he will sign it or not. If he keeps the bill ten 
days that Congress is in session and does not sign it. 
then it becomes a law without his name on it. If Congress 
should adjourn and the members go home before the ten 
days are past, the Constitution says that the bill can not 
be a law unless the President signs it. The Constitution 
says this because the President has the right to send back 
any bill he does not like and objects to jt before it can be 
a law. If Congress could send him a bill and then have it 
become a law by going home before he had time to send 
it back, this would take away his right to object to it, or 
veto it. To cause the President to lose this right would be 
unfair and wrong. 

142. The Powers of Congress. The following are some 
of the things that Congress can do. — 

1. They can collect taxes from the people. This is not 
often done unless there is a war or some special need for 
large sums of money. 

2. They can put a tax on goods brought to this country 
from other countries. This is called an indirect tax. This 
tax is collected at the custom-houses when the goods are 
brought to the United States. The government gets a 
great deal of money from this tax. 

3. They can put a tax on tobacco, cigars, liquors, and 
other things made for sale in this country. 

4. They can borrow money to pay the expenses of the 
government. 

5. They can make rules for trading between people 
who live in the United States and people who live in other 

142. Name the most important things that Congress 
can do. 



128 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

countries ; also for trading between people who live in one 
state and those who live in another state of the United 
States. 

6. They can make laws called naturalization laws. They 
tell how men who have come from other countries to live 
in the United States can be made citizens of this country 
and have the rights and privileges that Americans have. 
Such laws help immigrants and make them want to live 
here. 

7. They can make rules for coining money. Nobody 
except men employed by the government have the right to 
make gold and silver or other metals into money. If every- 
body could do it bad men would cheat and make poor money 
and such money would cause a great deal of trouble ; so 
Congress makes laws to punish any one who tries to coin 
money for himself. Such a man is called a counterfeiter. 

8. They can make laws for managing post-offices and 
for carrying the mail from place to place. Most of the 
money to pay the expenses of this work is got by selling 
postage stamps. 

9. They can declare war on any other country that tries 
to do wrong to the United States. If they do this they also 
make rules for getting soldiers to carry on the war and for 
taking care of them while the war lasts. 

10. Congress can make new states and tell them how to 
join the Union. They can also do a great many other 
things when they are for the good of all the people in the 
United States. To learn what they all are one should read 
the Constitution of the United States. 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 129 

143. Some Things That Congress Can Not Do. The 

Constitution forbids the following: — 

1. Congress can not made an ex post facto law. This 
means that they can not make a law to punish a man for 
what he did before the law was made. Everybody has a 
right to know what the laws are and the people can not 
know beforehand what laws Congress are going to pass. 
Therefore it w^ould be wrong to punish people for what 
they do unless there is a law against it at the time they 
do it. 

2. Congress can not put a tax on goods sent from one 
state into another state to sell there. 

3. Congress can not suspend the writ of habeas corpus 
except in time of war. This means that a man who is ar- 
rested for crime can not be put in jail and kept there a long 
time without being brought before a judge. The judge must 
know what the complaint against the man is, and if the 
complaint is not enough to keep the man in jail the judge 
must let him go. 

144. What the Constitution Says About Gifts. The 

Constitution says that a person who holds any United States 
ofifice can not accept a gift, or office, or title of any kind 
from any ruler in a foreign country. If an officer could 
accept gifts from foreign countries he might work for those 
countries in order to get the gifts. This would not be just 
and fair to the people in the United States. 

143. Name the most important things that Congress 
can not do. 

144. What does the Constitution say about gifts? Why 
does it say this? 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

145. Who Execute the Laws? The President of the 
United States and his cabinet and all ofificers everywhere 
who are appointed to see that tlie laws of the United States 




The White Hiiuse -the President's Home. 

are ol)cyc(l, are called the executive department of the gov- 
ernment. 



145. Who are called the executive department of the 
government ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 131 

146. Duties of the President of the United States. He 

is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy. This does 
not mean that he must go into battles and lead the soldiers 
unless he thinks best. It means that he gives orders to all 
the generals and commanders and they must do what he 
tells them to do. 

He selects a number of assistants called his Cabinet. 
These men must give him advice and information about any 
business in their departments. 

He can pardon men who have l)een sent to prison by the 
courts for some crime against the United States. This 
means that if he finds that there has been some mistake and 
that the prisoners ought to I)e free he can order them to be 
let out of prison. 

He can appoint men to make treaties with other coun- 
tries. Before any treaty can become a law it must l^e sent 
to the Senate and approved by two-thirds of the Senators 
who are present. 

He appoints ambassadors, ministers, and consuls to rep- 
resent the United States in other countries. He also ap- 
points the judges of the Supreme Court, many postmasters, 
and nearly all important United States oflFicers. 

The men that he selects must be approved by the Senate, 
except in special cases. The men who assist him directly 
in his own work are appointed by him alone. 

He sends messages to Congress at the beginning of every 
session and at other times when he thinks best. In these 
messages he gives Congress information about the aflfairs 
of the country and tells what kind of laws he thinks ought 
to be made. 

146. Name the chief duties of the President. 



132 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

He must see that the laws made by Congress are obeyed. 
This great duty gives him the title of the Chief Executive 
of the Nation. When he learns that any man is not obeying 
the laws he must send the proper officer to make the man 
obey. If the President himself does not do his duty he may 
be impeached by the House of Representatives and removed 
from ofifice by the Senate. 

147. Who May Be President. The President must be 
a citizen of the I'nited States who was also born a citizen 
of the United States. He must be thirty-five years of age 
and must have lived in the United States for fourteen years. 

148. Vacancies. In case the President dies, is removed 
from office, or can not do the duties of President, the Vice- 
President shall take his place and act as President. In case 
the Vice-President also dies or can not perform his duties, 
the office of President shall go to the Secretary of State. 
In case of more vacancies the office shall go to other Cabinet 
officers in the following order: Secretary of the Treasury, 
Secretary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, 
Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior. There are 
now two other officers in the President's Cabinet, but as 
there w'ere only seven when the law was passed giving them 
the right to succeed to the presidency, those added since the 
law was made are not included. 

149. Salaries of the President and Vice-President. The 
President receives a salary of $50,000 a year and has the 
use of a house which is owned and furnished by the govern- 

147. Who may be President? 

148. In case the office of President becomes vacant ho a 
is the vacancy filled. 

149. What salaries are paid the President and \'ice- 
President. 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 133 

ment. This house is in the city of Washington and is called 
the ''Executive Mansion" or the "White House." The Vice- 
President receives a salary of $12,000 a year. 

150. The Cabinet. The President selects nine men to 
be the heads of departments to assist him and give him ad- 
vice. He calls these men together at the Executive Mansion 
whenever he sees fit. At these meetings he hears their 
opinions, but is free to agree or disagree with them and acts 
as he thinks best. Each member of the Cabinet receives a 
salary of $12,000 a year. Their duties are described in the 
following paragraphs. 

151. The Secretary of State. The Secretary of State 
transacts all business with foreign states. He also takes 
care of all the law^s and treaties of the United States. 

152. The Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of 
the Treasury has charge of the collection of all United 
States taxes and revenues and the general management of 
the nation's mone^ affairs. He gives orders for the payment 
of all money voted by Congress. Once a year he makes a 
report to Congress telling how much money the government 
has received and spent and how much the government will 
probably receive and spend in the following year. 

153. The Secretary of War. The Secretary of War has 
charge of the military affairs of the government. He has 
the oversight of the United States military academy at 
West Point. 



150. How many men in the President's Cabinet? What 
are their duties? What is the salary of each member? 

151. What are the duties of the Secretary of State? 

152. What are the duties of the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury? 

153. What are the duties of the Secretary of War? 



134 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

154. Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary of the Navy 

has charge of the construction of war-vessels and their 
equipment and use. 

155. Other Members of the Cabinet. The Attorney- 
General is the one to give advice to the President about 
questions of law. He also takes care of the interests of the 
United States whenever the government has a case before 
the Supreme Court. 

The Postmaster-General manages the affairs of all post- 
offices and makes postal treaties with foreign countries. 

The Secretary of the Interior and the commissioners 
associated with him have charge of the public lands, the col- 
lection of information and statistics about education, pen- 
sion business, and Indian affairs. 

The Secretary of Agricultural collects and publishes in- 
formation on the subject of agriculture. His department 
distributes large quantities of seeds free to the people in 
order to introduce new and valuable varieties of crops. 
Weather predictions are published daily Jor the benefit of 
the people. 

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor endeavors to pro- 
mote the commercial, manufacturing, mining, transporta- 
tion, and labor interests of the people of the United States. 

156. Impeachment. In case the I'resident of the United 
States or any other man who holds a United States office 

154. What are the duties of the Secretary of the Navy? 

155. What are the duties of the Attorney-General? Of 
the Postmaster-General? Of the Secretary of the Interior? 
Of the Secretary of Agriculture? Of the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor? 

156. Who may be impeached? Who must make the 
complaint? Who must try the case? What is the punish- 
ment if the case is decided against the officer who has been 
tried? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 135 

is accused of not doing his duty, the House of Representa- 
tives may inquire into the complaints against him, and if 
they think he ought to be put out of ofifice they may make 
complaint against him and he must be tried. When they 
make charges in such a case they impeach the office-holder. 
Members of Congress themselves can not be impeached. 
If any one who holds a United States office is impeached by 
the House of Representatives the Senate must try his case. 
If the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Jus- 
tice presides at the trial. If two-thirds of the Senators who 
try the case vote against the officer who is tried he must 
lose his office and also his right to hold any other United 
States office. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

157. United States Court. 'l"hc judicial (lepartmcnl of 
the Ignited States consists of four classes of regular courts 
and four kinds of special courts. The jud.e^es for all these 
courts are appointed by the Picsident with the consent of 
the Senate. They hold their office during: good behavi(M-, 
which generally means for life, or as long as they are able 
to perform their duties as judges. 

158. The Supreme Court. The Su])reme Court is the 
highest court in the L'nited States. Its decision is final and 
must be respected by all the people in the L'nited States. 
In case of dispute this court decides what is the meaning 
of laws that have been made by Congress. It also decides 
whether or not Congress had the right to make a particular 
law. and in case it decides that Congress had no right to 
make such a law that law becomes useless. 

This court consists of a Chief Justice and eight .\ssociate 
Justices. The salary of the Chief Justice is $13,000 a year. 
The salary of each Associate is $12,000 a year. 

159. Circuit Courts. The United States is divided into 



157. How many classes of Cnited States courts are 
there? How are their judges apixnnted? h'or how long? 

\?8. W'hat is done bv the Supreme Court? How many 
judges has this court? What are their salaries ? 

159. How many Circuit Courts are there in the Cnited 
States? How many Circuit Courts of Appeals? What 
salarv do Circuit judges receive? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT J37 

nine circuits. One Justice of the Supreme Court holds court 
in each circuit and he is assisted by from two to four Circuit 
Judges, according to the number of cases to be tried. There 
are also nine Circuit Courts of Appeals, each having a 
special judge who is joined by two other judges when try- 
ing cases. Circuit judges receive a salary of $7,500 a year, 

160. District Court. Each circuit is divided into dis- 
tricts. In each district a judge who resides there is ap- 
pointed to preside over the district court. His salary is 
$6,000. 

161. Special Courts. It is a principle of government 
that a nation can not properly be sued by its own citizens. 
But citizens often have claims against the government 
which need to be examined by some court before they can 
be settled. In order to settle such cases Congress has 
created a special court called the Court of Claims. This 
court consists of a chief judge and four other judges. They 
are in session in the city of Washington for several months 
each year. 

The other special courts are the Supreme Court of the 
District of Columbia, the Supreme Courts in the Territories, 
and the District Courts in the Territories. 

162. Trial by Jury. All persons arrested for crime, ex- 
cept I'nited States ofifice holders, who are impeached, shall 
have the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial 
jury in the state where the crime was committed. 

160. How are the circuits divided? ■ , 

161. What is done by the Court of Claims? What 
other special courts are mentioned? 

162. Who has the right to a trial by jury? 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 

163. Relation of the State to the Nation. In some 
countries of Europe the nation is divided into provinces or 
districts. This makes it easier for the government to en- 
force its laws and manage jjublic affairs. The officers know 
just what they are to do and where they are to do it. This 
is not at all the reason why the United States is divided 
into states. In fact, we ought not to say that the United 
States is divided. The fact is that the states are united to 
form the Union. The states are older than the nation. Be- 
fore they formed the Union each state was a little nation by 
itself. After the states got free from England all the power 
was in the hands of the people themselves. They managed 
all their public affairs in the states. Then they saw that 
there were many things that they could do better for them- 
selves if they had a national government or Union of all 
the states. So the people formed the L'nion and said, "We 
will have our President, our Congress, and our Supreme 
Court do certain things for us because these things are for 
the good of us all."' 

The Constitution tells what these things are, and the 
National government and nobody else has the right and 
power to do them, because the people say so. 

The people also said, "We will not give the national gov- 

163. How does a state in the United States differ from 
a province in a European country? W^hat affairs are man- 
aged by the national government? What things belong to 
the state to do? W'ho alwavs rule? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 



139 



ernment the right to manage the affairs that belong simply 
to the people at home. The affairs that concern each state 
shall be managed by the people of that state alone." 
Neither the National government nor any other state can 
interfere in the state and local affairs of Alassachusetts. 
Every other state has the same relation to the national gov- 
ernment that Massachusetts has. Each state has its own 
constitution and makes its own laws. These state constitu- 




Connecticut State Capitol Building at Hartford. 

tions and state laws must not oppose the national Constitu- 
tion and the national laws. That would make trouble, but 
so long as the national government and the state govern- 
ments do just what the people have given each the right to 
do, each manages its own affairs without any interference 
from the other. 

One thing should never be forgotten in America, and 
that is, the people govern themselves. They tell their state 



140 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

government and the national government just what each 
can do. If their government does not suit them the people 
can change it. If their officers do not suit them the jieople 
can choose new officers at the next election. 

164. The Rights of the State. .Vll our purely local i)ub- 
lic affairs concern only ourselves and are cared for hy our 
own state. Our religious rights and privileges ; our schools 
and every means of education ; the right to vote ; the laws 
about marriage and the rights of parents and children ; laws 
about local business, collecting debts, exchanging property, 
protecting the lives and property of the people at home, 
punishing common crimes ; in fact, nearly everything that 
concerns the welfare of the people at home and does not 
concern the people in other states or countries, is the bus- 
iness of the state. The state makes laws to care for all 
these things. 

165. What the States Can Not Do. When studying the 
Constitution we discover that some things are forbidden to 
the states. For example : the states can not make wars and 
settle wars. They can not coin money, nor make rules for 
trade between the states themselves or with foreign coun- 
tries. They can not put a tax on goods brought from other 
countries. In short, they can not make laws that afifect 
people in other states. Such laws must be made and en- 
forced by the nation for the safety and good of all. 

166. Interstate Commerce. The railroads in the I'nited 
States carry goods from one state into another and often 

164. Name the main tfiings that the state has the right 
to do. 

165. What things are the states forbidden to do? 

166. What is interstate commerce? What law did Con- 
gress make about commerce in 1887? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 141 

across many states. Their business concerns the people of 
the whole country. This gives Congress the right to say 
that the railroads must treat all the people in the states 
alike. 

Men who carried on a small business and had a few 
goods for the railroads to carry complained that they had to 
pay more to get their goods carried than the men paid who 
had a larger business. This was unfair. The rich man 
could drive the poor man out of business and when he had 
all the business, then he could charge the public high prices 
for his goods. 

In 1887 Congress passed a law which said that commis- 
sioners should be appointed to see that all charges for carry- 
ing passengers and freight are reasonable and just and that 
all shippers are treated alike. These commissioners require 
all railroads and everybody engaged in carrying interstate 
commerce to make an annual report showing how they do 
business. These reports are published by the government 
so that everybody can know what they are. 

167. State Constitutions. We have seen that the 
United States has a national Constitution which tells what 
kind of laws Congress shall make and v^hat kind of a na- 
tional government the people shall have. Since the states 
have governments of their own to manage their state afifairs 
it is just as necessary that they should have state constitu- 
tions which tell what kind of laws the state legislature shall 
make and what kind of government the state shall have. 

These constitutions have been made by the people them- 
selves, but all the people of a state could not meet together 
in one place, so they chose delegates to represent them and 
act for them. These delegates held a convention and made 

167. How are state constitutions made? 



142 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

the kind of constitution that they thought the people wanted. 
Then the people of the state held an election to decide 
whether or not they would accept the constitution. If a 
majority of the voters were in favor of it the constitution 
became the law of the state. If a majority of the people 
should vote aj^ainst it another constitution would have to 
be made. Every constitution tells how it can be changed 
and how additions can be made to it. These changes and 
additions are called amendments. 

168. How the States are Divided. — States are divided 
into counties, and counties are divided into towns and cities. 
Cities and large towns are again divided into wards and 
districts. Each of these divisions has ofificers of its own to 
attend to its local affairs. 

169. Who Can Vote. Not all the people have the right 
to vote. Men over twenty-one years of age have the right 
on certain conditions. They must be citizens or must 
declare that they intend to become citizens. In some 
states, as in Massachusetts and Connecticut, they must 
know how to read. They must live a certain time in a state 
and town before they can vote there. The law of each state 
tells how long this must be. Idiots, lunatics, and paupers 
can not vote. Women can vote in Wyoming, Colorado, 
Utah, and Idaho, the same as men, and in many of the other 
states they can vote for school officers and on a few ques- 
tions. 

170. The Legislature. The state legislatures, like the 
national Congress, are composed of two houses, a Senate 



168. Into w^hat are the states divided? 

169. Who have the right to vote? Who can not vote? 

170. Into what are the state legislatures divided? How 
are members of the legislature chosen? What are their 
duties? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 148 

and a House of Representatives. In some states the legis- 
lature has a special name. For example, in Massachusetts 
it is called the General Court, and in Connecticut it is called 
the General Assembly. The members of the legislature are 
chosen by the direct vote of the people. They make state 
laws in much the same way that national laws are made by 
Congress. Many of the states also require their Governor 
to sign or veto every law. 

171. State Officers. The Governor is the head of the ex- 
ecutive department and is the highest ofificer in the state. He 
is elected by the direct vote of the people. His chief duty is 
to see that the laws of the state are enforced and obeyed. 
He sends messages to the legislature telling what kind of 
laws he thinks ought to be made. He is Commander-in- 
Chief of the state militia except when they are in the service 
of the national government. In case a man has been un- 
justly sent to prison he can pardon him. 

The Lieutenant-Governor is the presiding ofificer of the 
Senate and he becomes Governor in case the Governor dies 
or is unable to perform his duties. 

The Secretary of State has charge of all state records 
and the original copies of all laws. 

The State Treasurer takes care of all money belonging 
to the state and keeps an account of what is received and 
paid out. 

Most states have an Attorney-General, who gives advice 
to the Governor about questions of law and has charge of 
all state cases in the Supreme Court. 

171. Who is the highest ofificer in a state? How is he 
elected? What are his duties? What are the duties of the 
Lieutenant Governor? Of the Secretary of State? Of the 
State Treasurer? Of the Attorney-General? 



144 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

172, State Courts. The state courts consist of a Su- 
preme Court and many lower courts. These try state cases 
in about the same way that United States Courts try na- 
tional cases. 

173. Town Officers. The chief officers to look after 
the affairs of a town, especially in New England, are the 
Selectmen. In some states they are called Trustees, in 
others, the Town Council. Their main duties are to repre- 
sent the town in all its business transactions. They gen- 
erally have the care of highways and public property, make 
up the list of jurors, and attend to the town's law suits. 

The Town Clerk keeps a record of all the votes passed 
in town meeting; administers the oath of office to all other 
town officers; issues marriage licenses; records births, mar- 
riages, and deaths ; licenses dogs ; keeps a record of deeds 
and mortgages. 

The Assessors find out the value of every person's prop- 
erty and make a list showing how much tax each one must 
pay. 

The Tax Collector collects all the money due for taxes. 
If any person does not pay his tax the Collector can sell his 
property. He will then take the amount of the tax and the 
expense of selling the property out of what he receives from 
the sale and pay what is left to the owner. 

The Town Treasurer takes care of all the town's money 
and pays the town's expenses when ordered to do so by the 
Selectmen or other officers who have the right to tell him 

172. What name is given to the highest state courts? 

173. What are the duties of selectmen? Of a town 
clerk? Of tax assessors? Of a tax collector? Of a town 
treasurer? Of an overseer of the poor? Of a school com- 
mittee ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 145 

to do so. Once a year he must make a report showing how 
much money he has received and what he has done with it. 

The Overseer of the Poor sees that residents of the town 
who are too poor to take care of themselves are cared for 
at the town's expense. 

The Constables arrest people who are accused of crime 
and keep order on the streets and in public places. They 
serve warrants and summon witnesses and jurors when 
they are needed in the courts. 

The School Committee have the general oversight of the 
schools of the town. They care for the school houses and 
school property; they arrange courses of study and select 
text-books to be used in the schools ; they examine, hire, and 
dismiss the teachers. Sometimes they employ a Superin- 
tendent of Schools to perform some of these duties for them. 

174. Town Meetings. iVll the voters of a town meet 
once a year to hold a town meeting. The business of this 
meeting is very important and every voter should attend. 
The town officers are elected by vote ; reports are heard 
from the town officers of the past year ; a tax is voted to 
pay the expenses of the coming year ; any other important 
town business may be done, provided it has been mentioned 
in the notice of the meeting. 

All business to be done in town meeting must be men- 
tioned in the notice in order that the voters may know about 
it beforehand and have time to form their opinions before 
voting. 

175. The Caucuses. We have spoken of caucuses in 
the chapter on the national government. They are so im- 
portant that they deserve to be mentioned again. In the 

174. What business is usually done in a town meeting? 

175. What business is usually done in a caucus? 



14() AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

caucuses the men are selected who are to be voted for on 
election day. Every voter should attend in order to help 
select good men. The voter must first see that his own 
name is on the list of those who have a right to take part 
in the caucuses. Nowhere else can he do a greater service 
for the cause of good local government than by working 
for what he believes is right in the caucus. 

176. The County Sheriff. The chief executive oflficer 
of the county is the Sheriff. He does for the county what 
the constable does for the town and has additional import- 
.ant duties. He attends court and keeps order ; arrests mur- 
derers and other criminals and takes them to court; sees 
that the sentence of the court is carried out. He appoints a 
number of deputies to assist him. In case of special need 
he can call upon any citizen to give him aid and he even 
has the right to call upon the Governor to send soldiers to 
help him. 

176. What are the duties of a sheriff? 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 

177. General Plan. The general plan of a city govern- 
ment is like that of a state. It has a special kind of constitu- 
tion called a charter. Its government is divided into three 
departments, legislative, executive, and judicial. 

178. The Charter. The legislature of the state grants 
the city permission to have a charter. This is a written doc- 
ument which gives the city the right to manage its local 
afifairs and tells what sort of a local government it shall 
have. It names certain special things that the city can do 
for itself and other things that the city must not do. 

179. The City Legislature. The city legislature is 
called the City Council or the Board of Aldermen. Some- 
times this body of men is divided into two parts like the two 
houses of the state legislature, but in most cities they all 
meet as one Council. The members are elected by the 
voters of the wards into which the city is divided. The laws 
passed by this legislature for the city are called ordinances. 
They are simply local rules about such public matters as 
the erection of buildings, the digging of sewers, the preven- 

177. What are the three departments of a city's gov- 
ernment? 

178. What is a citv's charter? 

179. Describe the legislature of a city. What are ordi- 
nances? 



148 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

tion of fires, the checking of contagious diseases, and the 
peace and safety of the people, and must not conflict with 
the laws of the state or nation. 

180. The Mayor. The head officer of the executive de- 
partment of a city is the ]\Iayor. It is his duty to see that 
the laws are enforced and that all the officers who are under 
his authority do their duties. He gives advice to the city 
council and tells them what kind of ordinances he thinks 
should be made. 

181. The Fire Department. Every city must have a 
large number of men whose business it is to put out fires 
and save houses and property from being burned. These 
men must live in stations in all parts of the city. They have 
ladders, hose pipe, and other apparatus needed for their 
work, and strong and swift horses to take them and their 
apparatus to any place where there is a fire. If their alarm 
bell rings at any hour of the day or night they must hurry 
to the place where they are wanted. 

182. The Police Department. The police officers of a 
city are like a small army. They have their chief, or com- 
mander, and are divided into groups under captains and 
other officers. Most of the time, howe\er. they do their 
duties singly. They must keep order, protect persons and 
property, and arrest those who make a disturbance or com- 
mit crimes. 

183. The Health Department. This department is very 
important. It is the business of the health officers to ex- 
amine the city's water supply and see that it is pure. They 



180. What are the duties of a mayor? 

181. What work is done by a fire department? 

182. How are police officers organized? What arc their 
duties? 

183. What is done by a health department? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 149 

inspect the sewers and everything that might cause disease; 
they punish men who sell impure milk or food. They should 
also see that people do not live in tenements that are likely 
to cause illness and that too many people do not crowd 
together in one home. People who become ill and have dis- 
eases not only suiTer themselves, but they often cause others 
to suffer or take the diseases. For this reason the people 
have a right to say that everybody must obey the rules of 
the health oft'icers and do what they can to prevent disease. 

184. Other Departments. There are many other de- 
partments in a large city, each having charge of one kind 
of public work. It is wise to have one group of men give 
all their time to the work of one department, for then they 
learn to do it well and can give it careful attention. 

The school department is a group of men who see that 
the city has good schools and that all have the privilege of 
getting an education. The law in most cities says that 
children must go to school whether they wish to or not. 
This is right because if children do not learn how to earn 
their own living and take care of themselves other people 
will have to support them. Uneducated people, too, break 
many laws and can not be as useful citizens as those who are 
educated. 

The street department takes care of the streets. The 
charity department takes care of the people who can not 
care for themselves. Other men look after public libraries 
to supply the people with good books ; others have charge 
of parks and play grounds, which add much to the health 
and happiness of children and their parents ; still others 

184. Why should the law require children to go to 
school? Name some of the departments that have special 
work to do in a city. 



150 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

have their special duties, for a great city must have many 
things (lone by the officers of its government. 

185. Franchises. In most cities there are some kinds 
of public service that the city allows private persons or 
companies to do for the people. Lighting the streets, fur- 
nishing water, and running the street cars, are examples. 
Before a company can do work of this kind they must get 
a franchise from the city. A franchise is a written permis- 
sion given by the city legislature telling what the company 
have a right to do and how long they can do it. It also 
provides that the company must carry on their work in such 
a way as to render good service to the people. 

186. Municipal Ownership. Sometimes companies ob- 
tain franchises from the city and then treat the people un- 
fairly. They may not do the best they can to serve the 
people, or they may charge too much for what they do. This 
causes a great many people to say that the city ought to 
own and manage its own street cars, water works, lighting 
plants, and everything that is for the good of all. Some 
cities are already trying the experiment of doing these 
things for themselves. It is a great problem. Neither pri- 
vate companies nor municipal ownership will satisfy the 
people unless the men who have charge of the work are 
honest, competent, and willing to serve the public as well as 
themselves. When all the people are well enough educated 
to understand the problem they can decide which way is 
the better one. 

Every one should educate himself for his duties as a 
voter and then help see to it that only the best men have 
charge of public offices and public affairs. Then this 
problem and all other pubHc questions can be settled in the 
best way. 

185. What is a franchise? 

186. What is meant by municipal ownership? 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 

187. Origin of Parties. Political parties in the United 
States began while George Washington was President. 
There is a clause in the Constitution which says that Con- 
gress shall have power to make all laws which shall be 
necessary and proper for carrying into execution its own 
powers and the powers of the government. Men very soon 
began to disagree over the questions : "What laws are 
necessary?" "What laws should Congress make?" They 
said, "This clause is elastic. It means few laws or many laws 
according to the way one stretches it." Alexander Hamil- 
ton, the Secretary of the Treasury, wanted to have the na- 
tional government made very strong. He said that Con- 
gress ought to make such laws as they thought best for the 
good of all the people, except when the Constitution said 
Congress could not make them. Thomas Jefferson, the 
Secretary of State, thought that the states and the people 
at home should rule themselves as much as possible and he 
did not want Congress to make any laws except those that 
the Constitution plainly told them to make. The people 
who agreed with Hamilton called themselves Federalists. 
The people who agreed with Jefferson called themselves 
Republicans. 

After Washington was President these two parties tried 
to see which could get the larger number of votes and elect 

187. What was the first great question that caused the 
formation of political parties? Who were the first leaders? 



152 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

men to office who thought as they did. Since that time 
there have been two great political parties most of the time 
and much of the time there has been one or more smaller 
parties of men who did not agree with either of the great 
parties, for any group of men who want some change in the 
way public aft"airs are managed, or some new law, max form 
a new party and work for what they want. 

188. History of Parties. The Federalist party was 
beaten by the Republicans in 1800 and Thomas Jefferson 
was elected President. A few years later the United States 
got into a war with England. This was called the War of 
1812. The republicans believed in fighting England until 
the United States got their right to trade and sail the ocean 
without being disturbed by England. The Federalists tried 
to stop the war because it interfered with business. Most 
of the people agreed with the Republicans and for a few 
years the Republican party was the only large party. 

In 1824 this party could not agree upon the man they 
wanted to have for President. Those in New England 
wanted John Quincy Adams ; the A\'estern states wanted 
Henry Clay; the Southern states wanted William H. Craw- 
ford; the Southwestern states wanted Andrew Jackson. Xo 
one was chosen at the election and the House of Repre- 
sentatives had to decide who should have the office. They 
gave it to John Quincy Adams. 

When the Federalists were in oft'ice they -.had passed a 
protective tariff* law. Adams and Clay thought it a good 

188. What caused the Federalist party to lose their 
power? What caused a divi'sion of the Republican party in 
1824? What made two great parties again in 1828? \Miat 
was the next great question to divide the parties? What 
was the result in 1860? \\'hat have been the Icadinc ])arlies 
since 1860? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 153 

law and wished to have a high tariff and also a United States 
Bank. Jackson believed in a low tariff and state banks. This 
made two parties again at the next presidential election. 
Jackson's friends called themselves the Democratic party 
and that party has the same name today. The other party 
called themselves National Republicans at first, then they 
changed the name to Whigs. 

The next great question to divide the parties was the 
slavery question. A new party was formed which wanted 
to stop the spread of slavery. Many who had been Whigs 
and many who had been Democrats joined the new party. 
In 1860 this party elected Abraham Lincoln as their first 
President. Since then the two great parties have been the 
Republicans and the Democrats, and the Republicans have 
elected all the Presidents except President Cleveland, who 
was elected twice by the Democrats. 

Congress has been divided betv>-een the two parties, be- 
cause at every election part of the men elected are Repub- 
licans and part are Democrats. Sometimes, too, some of 
the smaller parties have elected men to Congress. In the 
states the Governors and the members of the legislatures 
are also elected by these parties. 

189. Principles of the Different Parties. In many of 
their beliefs both great parties and most of the small ones 
are alike. They agree in their love and loyalty to the land 
that is their home. They agree that their law makers and 
officers should do everything in their powerto make it possi- 
ble for every one to enjoy peace, safety, protection of prop- 
erty, the rewards of labor, and the blessings of education, 

189. Name the leading parties at the present time and 
tell what are the leading principles of each. 



154 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

justice, and liberty. They difler in their opinion as to the 
best kind of laws to secure some of these things that they 
all love. They disagree especially about the kind of laws 
that will help make business and trade successful and give 
men plenty of work and good wages. 

For instance the leading men in the Republican party 
believe that a protective tariff helps manufacturers to make 
and sell more goods and thus makes more work and better 
wages for laborers. The leading men in the Democratic 
party also believe in a tariff, but they say that the taxes, or 
duties, which the Republicans want, are too high and that 
the main object of the tariff should be to get money to pay 
the expenses of the government. 

The Prohibition party believe that the use of intoxicat- 
ing liquors produces so much poverty, suffering, and crime 
that laws ought to be made to stop the manufacture and sale 
of such liquors to be used as beverages. 

The Socialists wish to have laws that will prevent com- 
petition between business men or between workmen. They 
want men to co-operate. They think that the oroperty and 
means used for the production and distribution of wealth 
should be owned by all the working people collectively, not 
by individuals or groups of individuals, as they now are. 

Of course, there are many other things about which the 
parties do not think alike. Even men in the same party do 
not all agree about some things. Then, too, questions about 
which the parties disagree one year may be settled the next 
year and there will always be new questions to settle ; so 
that the only w ay to know just what each party wants to 
do is to read and study what the leaders of the parties say 
in their speeches and \- hat they say and do in their political 
conventions and elsewhere. It is very important for the 
people to study the parties and learn v. hat they want to do. 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 155 

If we do not study them we can not tell what men we 
ought to vote for to hold office and make the best laws for 
us. 

190. Party Organizations. In order to do its work each 
party must be organized like an a,rmy. The men who be- 
long to one party in a small town get together and choose 
a committee to look after the affairs of the party in that 
town. In the cities there is a committee in each ward and 
another committee for the whole city made up of delegates 
from each ward. Delegates from the towns and cities and 
sometimes counties are chosen to form the state committee. 
Delegates from the states make up the national committee. 
These committees all work together to select men for their 
party to vote for on election day. Their object is to select 
the men who have the best chance to win. Then they hold 
meetings and make speeches, publish articles in the news- 
papers, and distribute literature to persuade the voters to 
vote for the men that have been selected. 

191. How Presidents are Nominated. Presidential 
elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday 
in November every fourth year, as in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 
so on. A few months before election day the members of 
the national committee of each party hold a meeting and 
select the time and place for holding the national conven- 
tion of their party. Then the state committees meet and 
select the time and place for holding the state conventions. 
After this the county, city, and town committees are notified 
to select men to attend the state conventions. 

190. Tell how parties are organized and how they do 
their work. 

191. Describe the method of nominating candidates for 
President. 



156 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

They beg'in by holding caucuses in the wards and towns. 
Delegates are chosen to attend the state convention. At 
the state convention delegates are chosen to attend the na- 
tional convention. The number of these delegates is twice 
the nunilier of men that the state sends to Congress. For 
instance, if the state has a small population like Delaware 
and sends one Representative and two Senators to Congress, 
then the number of delegates to the national convention will 
be six. If the state has a very large population like New 
York, which sends 39 men to Congress, there will be 78 
delegates. The state convention also chooses another group 
of men containing the same number that the state sends to 
Congress. These are to be voted for. on election day and 
if elected will be the presidential electors for the state. 

A\'hen the appointed day arrives delegates from all the 
states meet to hold the national convention. The main 
work done here is divided into two parts. 1. To write a 
platform, or statement, telling the people what the party 
think aljout the most important public questions and what 
they hope to do if successful on election day. 2. To nomi- 
nate candidates for President and Vice-President of the 
United States. It is a rule of the Republican party that a 
majority of the delegates shall make the nominations in the 
national conventions. In the Democratic conventions t.vo- 
thirds of all the delegates must vote for a candidate in order 
to nominate him. 

192. The Campaign. National conventions are usually 
held in the summer. This leaves several months before the 

192. Tell how a campaign is carried on. Do the voters 
cast their ballots directly for President and Mce-President? 
For whom do they cast ballots ? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 157 

election and gives the parties time to carry on their cam- 
paign. They hold political meetings, send letters and liter- 
ature to the people, publish articles in the newspapers and 
magazines in favor of their party and candidates, and do 
every thing they can to get the people to go to the polls and 
vote for their candidates. The people do not vote directly 
for President and Vice-President. They vote for the presi- 
dential electors that were nominated at the state conven- 
tions. These electors will later vote for President and 
Vice-President. They will vote for the candidates of their 
party. 

193. Work of the Electors. On the second Alonday in 
January after their election the electors meet in their own 
state, usually in the State Capitol. They vote on separate 
ballots for President and Vice-President. The votes are 
counted and lists are made telling what candidates have 
been voted for and how many votes each has received. 
These lists are signed by all the electors. They are called 
the election returns and one copy of them is sent by mail 
and another by special messenger to the President of the 
Senate. The third copy is deposited with a judge of the 
United States district court for safe keeping. 

194. How the Votes Are Counted. On the second 
Wednesday of the following February both houses of Con- 
gress meet together to count the votes. The President of 
the Senate opens all the returns and hands them to tellers 
who have been appointed by Congress to do the counting. 

193. What are the duties of electors? Describe their 
method of voting. 

194. Describe the method of counting the votes cast 
by the electors. AAdiat happens if the electors fail to choose 
a President and Vice-President? 



158 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

When they have counted them all and reported the number 
for each candidate, the one who has a majority of all the 
votes for President is declared elected President of the 
United States. The votes for Vice-President are counted 
and his election declared in the same way. In case no per- 
son receives a majority of all the votes for President the 
House of Representatives must choose as President one of 
the three candidates who have the largest number of votes. 
If there is no election for Vice-President the Senate must 
choose between the two candidates who have the largest 
number of votes. 

195. Other Conventions and Elections. Nearly the 
same methods that are used to hold caucuses in the towns, 
cities, and states, when preparing to choose candidates for 
President, are used when choosing candidates for town, city, 
and state officers. In the towns, for example, the town 
committee of each party call a caucus of their party. All 
who belong to the party and have a right to vote in the 
caucus can go and help select the candidates for all the 
town offices. 

On election day the voters choose which party they will 
vote for or perhaps they may vote for some men of one 
party and some of another. Most of the town and city 
officers have nothing to do with the making of laws and 
the settlement of the questions that divide the political par- 
ties. It is therefore foolish for a voter to say that every 
man who holds a town office, ought to belong to his own 
party in order to do such work as seeing that the streets 
are kept in good order, tha4; the health of the people is pro- 
tected, that there are good schools, and that the public 

195. What is the work of a caucus? \\'hat is said 
about party politics? 



AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 159 

money is honestly spent for the good of- the whole town. 
The same is true of most city officers. In order to have 
the best city to live in we must have the best men in office 
no matter what party they belong to. Only in the election 
of law-makers, such as members of the legislature, and in 
the election of state and national officers is it important to 
know what party a man belongs to. In small and local 
offices a good, honest and capable man is the main thing. 

State officers such as Governor are nominated in state 
conventions and voted for by all the voters of their state. 

196. Holding an Election. On election day all the 
voters who wish to vote go to the polls, or voting places. 
Each voter is given a ballot on which are all the names of 
the candidates of the different parties, or it may be that in 
some states he is given a number of tickets, one for each 
party. He then goes into the little stall or booth, where he 
can prepare his ballot as he wishes without being seen or 
disturbed by anyone. He marks his ballot with a pencil or 
does whatever the law of his state says in order to show 
which candidates he wishes to vote for. Then he goes to 
the ballot box where a clerk puts a mark against his name 
on the voting list to show that he has voted, and an election 
officer takes his ballot and drops it into the ballot box. At 
night all the ballots are counted and the person who has re- 
ceived the most votes for a particular office is elected. 

196. How are elections carried on? 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

George Washington, the first President of the United 
States, did so much to help his people that he is called the 
"Father of his Country." All good Americans love to read 
the story of his life. 

He was born in Virginia, near the Potomac River, on 
February 22, 1732. His father owned three large farms 
called plantations. On these farms George grew to be a 
strong and healthy boy. When he was four years old a 
neighbor taught him his letters. Then he went to school 
and studied reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. When 
he was about eleven his father died. At the age of fourteen 
he made plans to become a sailor, but just as he was ready 
to go to sea upon an English ship his mother begged him to 
stay with her. He went to school again and studied sur- 
veying until he was sixteen years of age. Besides what he 
learned from books he also learned much about the life 
and business of Virginia farmers. He was tall and strong. 
He loved sports and games and was fond of riding on horse- 
back. He knew a great deal about the Indians and their 
life in the forests. Everybody who knew him liked him and 
trusted him because he was good, brave, and honest. Such 
a boy could have no trouble in finding employment. 

As soon as he left school a wealthy gentleman named 
Lord Fairfax employed him to survey his large estate. Lord 
Fairfax owned many thousand acres of land. Most of this 
land was covered with forests. The work he asked George 
Washington to do was very difficult, but he did it all and 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



161 



did it well. He lived in the forest. Sometimes he slept on 
the ground, sometimes in the huts of poor settlers. Some- 
times he met and talked with savage Indians, ^^dlen he had 
finished the work Lord Fairfax was so well pleased that he 
helped him to obtain the office of public surveyor. For the 




George Washington. 

next three years he held this ofifice and was very busy. 

In 1751 he had to leave this work to take care of a sick 
brother. His brother died and left him the care of a large 
estate on the Potomac River. This estate was called Mount 
Vernon and later it became famous as Washinarton's home. 



102 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

Duriiii^ the years that Washington had worked as a sur- 
veyor he had used his leisure hours and days to learn the 
duties of a soldier. This was a wise thing for him to do. 
There was danger from the Indians. Soldiers were needed 
to protect the homes and lives of the people. There was 
danger, too, of trouble between the English and the French 
settlers in America. They now got into a cjuarrel o\'cr land 
in the valley of the Ohio River. The French said that they 
had explored this river and that its valley belonged to them. 
The people of Virginia said that the Ohio Valley was a part 
of Virginia because the King of England had given it to 
them. So both the English and the h^rench got ready to 
iight for the land. The French built some forts near the 
river. The Governor of Virginia determined to send some- 
body with a letter to the French telling them not to build 
forts or settle on land belonging to Virginia. Who was 
the best man for him to send? He must have a brave man 
because it was a dangerous journey. He selected Wash- 
ington, who was now a young man twenty-one years of age. 

W^ashington selected some guides and some Indians to 
go with him. It took them many weeks to go through the 
woods and over the mountains. They found the French 
forts and delivered the letter. The French officers treated 
them well but said thev should stay in the Ohio Valley. 
This meant war. Washington returned to Virginia and told 
the Governor what the h>ench had said. The Governor 
immediately appointed him lieutenant-colonel and sent him 
back with two companies of soldiers to protect a fort that 
the V'irginians were building near the Ohio River. Before 
he arrived at the fort a large company of French had cap- 
tured it. Washington at once went to fight the French. 
They were too manv for him and he was beaten, but he 
showed himself so brave that everybody nraised him for 
being a hero. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 163 

The next year an army came from England to Virginia 
to fight against the French. This army was commanded by 
General Braddock. When General Braddock learned how 
brave and popular Washington was he wanted him to go 
with him against the French, and he appointed him a colonel 
in his army. Washington was glad to aid him and to go 
with him to the Ohio Valley. 

Alas ! It was a sad journey. Suddenly the English 
were attacked by the French and their Indian friends. Gen- 
eral Braddock was killed. Washington took his place. He 
called upon the soldiers to do their duty and be brave. He 
rode where the danger was greatest. His horse was killed. 
He got another. That also was shot. Four bullets went 
through his coat, but he himself was not harmed and he 
saved the army. Then he went back to Virginia where he 
was soon made commander over all the soldiers in that col- 
ony. For three years he remained in Virginia to protect 
it against its enemies. 

In 1759 he was married to a young, beautiful, and 
wealthy widow named Martha Curtis. For the next sixteen 
years they lived on his estate at Mount Vernon. Here he 
was a very successful farmer. He was chosen one of the 
Burgesses, or law makers, of Virginia, and gave much of 
his time and thought to benefit his fellow citizens. 

In 1775 his peaceful life at Mount Vernon was interrupt- 
ed. England was trying to make her thirteen American 
colonies pay unjust taxes. Because the colonies refused to 
pay these taxes England was sending soldiers to make them 
pay. How could the Americans protect themselves? There 
was but one way. They must fight. Who should be their 
general? Washington was the man. The people asked 
him to be their commander-in-chief. He left his home and 
went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where an army of 15,000 
untrained men was waiting for him. For more than six 



164 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



years he led the armies of the thirteen colonies. Their war 
with England was a terrible struggle. Sometimes they 
were defeated and discouraged. Sometimes they thought 
they never could win. Timid men deserted them. Bad 




Washington Monument, Washington, D. C. 

men tried to destroy the good name of Washington. They 
told lies about him. They tried to make him lose his posi- 
tion at the head of the army. But they failed. The people 
trusted him and at last he won a great victory at Yorktown 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 165 

in Virginia. The British surrendered and the thirteen col- 
onies were free. 

Now a new kind of trouble caused great sorrow to Wash- 
ington. The new United States had not yet made for them- 
selves a good system of government. They had no Presi- 
dent to enforce their laws. They had no supreme court to 
settle their disagreements. They could not collect taxes 
to pay their debts to the soldiers and other people. The 
people quarreled and were almost ready to fight one an- 
other. Some men in the army asked Washington to be their 
king. They thought that he could make a good government 
and give them their pay. It made him very sad to think 
his army wanted another king after thev had fought so 
long to get free from the King of England, and he told them 
never to say anything more to him about a thing so foolish 
and so wrong. 

As soon as he was sure that England would not try to 
renew the war he resigned his office as general and became 
a private citizen. He refused to accept any pay for his 
years of service in the army. The gratitude of his people 
was all the pav he wanted. 

Five years later the states decided that they must have a 
better government and thev sent delegates to Philadelphia 
to hold a convention and decide what kind of a government 
they ought to have. Washington was chosen president of 
this convention. It took four months for the delegates to 
decide what they wanted and probably thev never would 
have agreed to anything if it had not been for what Wash- 
ington said and did. He persuaded them that every state 
could not have all that it wanted, but that each one must 
think of the good of all the rest and do what would be best 
for all the states. They finally yielded to his advice and in 
September, 1787, they agreed upon the Constitution of the 



166 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

United States and went home to their own states and asked 
the people to approve what they had done. 

When the Constitution had been approved by the people 
they held an election to choose their first President of the 
United States. George Washington was the choice of every 
state and he took the office on April 30, 1789. For eight 
years he governed wisely and well. His task was very dif- 
ficult. He had to organize and put into operation every 
department of the new government. There were trouble- 
some questions to settle with France and England. He met 
every difficulty with honesty and fairness and when he re- 
tired from office he was loved at home and respected abroad. 
Many of the people wished him to be their President for 
another four years but failing health made it necessary for 
him to rest. He went to his home in Mount Vernon hoping 
to spend the rest of his life in peace and quiet. 

This peace was soon disturbed. The United States had 
trouble with France and the two countries began to fight 
upon the sea. W^ashington was appointed to be the head 
of the army and he prepared for a struggle. Fortunately 
the trouble was soon settled and his life was peaceful again. 

At Mount Vernon he managed his estate and entertained 
his friends until his death on December 14, 1799. When he 
died the whole country mourned. To-day his name and 
memory are respected throughout the civilized world. He 
was a great general and a great President, but his people 
love him most of all because he was a great and true man 
who served his country all his life and was always a good 
citizen. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Benjamin Franklin was born in the city of Boston, in 
the state of Massachusetts on the 17th of January, 1706. 
His father was a poor man who earned a living by making 
soap and tallow candles to sell. As Benjamin had sixteen 
brothers and sisters his father could not give him much 
money to spend and when he did get a few pennies he was 
very happy. 

In his old age he was fond of telling how he spent some 
money when he was seven years old. It was his birthday 
and his friends filled his pocket with pennies. He started 
for the store to spend them. On the way he met a boy 
blowing a penny whistle, but he did not know how much a 
whistle was worth and he wanted one ; so he gave the boy 
all the money he had and took the whistle and. ran home 
blowing it. When he told his brothers and sisters what he 
had done they laughed at him, and told him how foolish he 
had been and how many nice things he might have bought 
with his money. Benjamin cried to think he had paid so 
much for a penny whistle but it taught him a lesson that he 
remembered all his life. 

When he saw men and women spending their time and 
strength and money to get showy trifles, or when he saw 
them do a wrong or dishonest act in order to gain some- 
thing, he would think how sorry they would afterwards be 
for what they were doing and he would say, "Don't pay too 
much for your whistle." 



168 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

He began to learn to read when he was a very small 
boy and he went to school until he was ten vears old. He 
w as so fond of books and reading that his father wanted to 
educate him to be a clergyman. His father was so poor, 
however, that he had to give up this plan and when Ben- 
jamin was ten years old he left school to help his father 
make candles. 

His brother James was a Drinter and w hen he was twelve 
years old he hired out to James to help him with his work 
and learn the trade. His brother had some good books and 
Benjamin spent his spare time studying them and writing 
comoositions, for he wanted to learn to write good English. 
He wrote some articles about public affairs and had them 
published in his brother's newspaper without letting his 
brother know who wrote them. The people who read them 
liked them very much, but James was angry because Ben- 
jamin had written them for the paper without telling him 
about it. The brothers had a quarrel and after that they 
had so much trouble that Benjamin ran away from home. 

He was then seventeen years old. He went on board 
a sailing boat which carried him to New York. Here he 
tried to get work as a printer, but New York was then only 
a small town and did not have much work for printers to 
do. He failed to find work there; so he started for Phila- 
delphia. A boat carried him i)art of the way and the rest 
of the way he walked. 

In Philadelphia he found plenty of work. After a while 
the Governor of Pennsylvania offered to make him the pub- 
lic printer and sent him to X-ondon to buy what he needed 
for the printing office saying he would pay for it. The Gov- 
ernor did not keep his promise and young Franklin could 
not buy anything for his oft'ice because the Governor did 
not send him the money. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 169 

He found work in London and worked there as a print- 
er for about a year. Then he sailed back to Philadelphia 
and in a little Avhile had saved money enough to have a 
small printing office of his own. He worked hard and 
saved his money. 

He married Miss Deborah Read, wdio helped him in his 




Benja:iiin Franklin. 

business, and in a few years he was one of the best known 
printers in the country. 

He published an almanac called, "Poor Richard't Al- 
manac." This was full of funny paragraphs and wise say- 
ings such as: "Diligence is the mother of good luck," "Plow 
deep while sluggards sleep and you'll have corn to sell and 



170 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

to keep," "One to-day is worth two to-morrows," "God hel])s 
them that help themselves." Everybody read this almanac 
and Franklin published one every year for twenty ""'ears. 

He also published a ne\vspa])er called "The Pennsylvania 
Gazette." \\'hat he said in this paper about public affairs 
showed that he was one of the wisest men in America. He 
used his influence to help others get an education and got 
the people of Philadelphia to build a public library and a 
college. The college is now called the University of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Franklin became a rich man and spent much of. his time 
studying science. He made a silk kite and went out to fly 
it in a thunder storm, \\nien lightning came down his kite 
string the way it acted proved that lightning and electricity 
are the same thing. This experiment set him and other 
men to studying electricity and they have since learned how 
to invent the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, the 
electric cars, and all the other things that use electricity. 

Franklin was made Postmaster of Philadelphia and the 
Postmaster-General of all the thirteen colonies. He was 
the first man that ever held that office and he had to make 
many rules and plans for carrying the mail. 

When the French and Indian war began he tried to get 
all the colonies to form a union in order to protect them- 
selves from their enemies. Fie wrote a plan of government 
for the colonies which said that the king should appoint 
them a president and the people should elect a council. The 
president and the council should manage the affairs of the 
union. The people voted against the plan because they 
thought it gave the king' too much power and the king did 
not like the plan because he thought it gave the people too 
much power. The plan failed but the people learned to 
know Franklin better and after the French and Indian war 
when England began to pass new laws to tax the colonies 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 171 

Franklin was sent to England to try and get the laws 
changed. He did not get many of them repealed, and finally 
the king became so unreasonable that Franklin came home. 

When the Revolutionary War broke out he was a mem- 
ber of the Continental Congress, which chose him as one 
of the five men to write the Declaration of Independence. 
Thomas Jefferson did most of the writing but Franklin gave 
him some help. 

After this he was sent to France to get help for the 
Americans. Through his influence France at first secretly 
sent money and war supplies to help the American army 
and later, after the Americans had captured Burgoyne's 
army, the French king joined the United States in their war 
against England and sent ships and an army to help them 
fight. 

Franklin remained in Europe nine years. Most of the 
time he was in Paris. In 1783 he was one of the men ap- 
pointed by the United States to meet men from England 
to make a treaty of peace. This treaty which made the 
United States free from England was made at Paris. Two 
years later Franklin returned to Philadelphia. 

The people of Pennsylvania at once made him President 
of the state. This office was the same as the office of Gov- 
ernor in other states. 

He was now an old man eightv years of age, but his peo- 
ple asked him to do them one more great service before he 
died. They asked him to be one of the delegates to the 
great convention that met in Philadelphia in 1787 to make 
a new Constitution for the United States. All through the 
four months of that convention he worked to help make a 
better government for his country. His common sense and 
good advice did much to make the convention a success. 
No other man except George Washington was so well loved 
by all the delegates. 



172 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

Three years later, on April 17, 1790, he died. He was a 
great man. He was great as a man of science and what he 
learned about electricity has blessed the world. He was 
great because of his good deeds. He was great also as a 
statesman who always served his country well, but he him- 
self simply asked the world to remember him as a printer. 
Years before his death he wrote his own epitaph. This was 
inscribed upon the plain slab of stone that rests upon his 
grave and to-day one may stand beside that grave in the 
city of Philadelphia and read these words : 

"The Body 

of 

Benjamin Franklin, Printer, 

(Like the cover of an old book, 

Its contents torn out, 

And stripped of its lettering and gilding.) 

Lies here food for worms. 

Yet the work itself shall not be lost, 

For it will, (as he believed) appear once more 

In a new 

And more beautiful edition 

Corrected and Amended 

By 

The Author." 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Thomas Jefferson was born in Albermarle county in Vir- 
ginia, April 13, 1743. His father was a farmer who owned a 
large farm of nearly two thousand acres and had about 
thirty slaves. As a boy he had excellent opportunities to 
get a good education. Until he was fourteen years old he 
had a private teacher. He was a good scholar and learned 
Latin, Greek, French, and mathematics. 

When he was fourteen his father died and he was sent 
to a school and prepared himself to go to college. At the 
age of seventeen he entered William and Mary College at 
Williamsburg, Virginia. This college was then the best 
school in America and Jefferson advanced in his studies 
rapidly. 

After two years of college work he studied law with a 
very able lawyer and when he was twenty-four years old 
he began to practice in the Virginia courts. Besides caring 
for his large farm he was soon earning three thousand dol- 
lars a year as a lawyer. 

Two years after he began to practice law he was elected 
a member of the house of Burgesses, which w^as the legis- 
lature of Virginia. The colonies were then having trouble 
with England over taxes. Jefferson advised the people of 
Virginia not to pay the unjust taxes and he signed a paper 
agreeing not to buy goods that came from England. 

When the colonies began to prepare for war he was sent 
as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress at Phila- 



174 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



delphia. Here his great skill as a writer was well known 
and he was appointed chairman of a committee of five to 
write the Declaration of Independence. All but a few sen- 
tences of the writing were done by his own hand and were 
approved by the Congress without change. This one thing 
made Jefferson famous for all time. 

After 1776 he went back to the Virginia legislature and 




Thomas Jefferson. 



served his state for three years. By his influence many 
good laws were made. One of these gave perfect religious 
liberty to the people of Virginia and was the first law of 
the kind ever passed by any legislature. 

From 1779 to 1781 he was Governor of his state and did 
all in his power to protect his people from the English army 
under Cornwallis. 

When the war w^as over Virginia sent him again to the 
Congress of the United States. He asked Congress to make 
a law saying that the United States should have a new kind 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 175 

of money, dollars and cents. Before this time the people 
had used pounds, shillings and pence. 

In 1784 he was sent to France to help Benjamin Frank- 
lin and John Adams, who were trying to make agreements 
with European countries so that the United States could 
trade with them. The next year the Congress asked him to 
be the American Minister to represent the United States in 
France. 

When Washington was made President he wanted Jef- 
ferson to be his Secretary of State. Jefiferson accepted the 
position, but he and Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, did not agree well about the kind of laws that 
ought to be made. Hamilton wanted the President and 
Congress to do many things for the people. Jefferson 
thought it would be better to let the states do some of these 
things. He wanted to see the people manage their own af- 
fairs as much as possible and he said Congress ought to do 
nothing except what the Constitution told them to do. Many 
people agreed with Jefferson and they were called Republi- 
cans. Some years afterward they changed the name to 
Democrats. This is why Jefferson is sometimes called the 
"Father of the Democratic Party." 

In 1797 he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States. Four years later he was made President and held 
that office eight years. While he was President he did one 
of the greatest and best things for his country that was ever 
done by any President. He purchased Louisiana from 
France. Louisiana w^as then a very large country. It in- 
cluded the land north of Mexico and west of the Mississippi 
River to the Rocky Mountains. It was larger than all of 
the United States east of the Mississippi. This land was 
very valuable and Jefferson bought it all for $15,000,000.00. 
This was about two cents and a half an acre. Some people 
said he had no right to buy it. The Constitution did not say 



17(5 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

he could, l)ut he knew that most of the people wished him 
to do it and he believed it was right. It was for the good 
of all the people that he did it and everybody now praises 
him for it. 

After he had been President eight years he went back to 
his home in Virginia and spent the last seventeen years of 
his life there. His home was built on a high hill and named 
Alonticello. People called him the "Sage of Monticello." 

He spent his last days giving his people help and ad- 
vice about better schools and better government. By his 
influence V^irginia made a good system of public schools 
beginning with the primary school and ending with the uni- 
versity. It took years of his time to get the university 
established and he thought this was one of the best things 
he did in his whole life. 

During the last years of his life so many people came to 
see him and ask his advice that his home was like a hotel. 
Often his housekeeper would have to provide beds for fifty 
visitors. To entertain so many people cost him much 
money. He was a rich man but he spent all his fortune and 
died poor. He died July 4, 1826, just fifty years after the 
day that the Declaration of Independence was passed. 

He asked to have three things inscrilied on his tomb — 
the three greatest and best acts of his life — "Author of the 
Declaration of Independence ; of the Statute for Religious 
Liberty in Virginia, and I'ounder of the University of Vir- 
ginia." 

JelTerson believed in government by the people; in uni- 
versal education ; in religious freedom, and that nobody 
should have to pay taxes for the support of any church ; in 
the freedom of the slaves'; in the growth of the United States 
bv adding new territory; in a strong union of the states. 
What he taught about good government has been a blessing 
to all the people of his country. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hardin 
county in the state of Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His 
father and mother were poor. His father had no education 
and his mother had very little ; so they could not teach the 
boy much at home and they had no good schools where 
they could send him. He was sent to a poor school a few 
weeks and perhaps his mother helped him to read a little, 
but he did not learn much until he was ten or eleven years 
old. 

His mother died when he was nine years old and the next 
year his father married again. The new wife was a good 
woman who treated little Abe, as he was called, and his 
sister like her own children. They now lived in a log cabin 
which Abe's father had built in the state of Indiana. A. 
school was started in a log cabin about a mile and a half 
from Abe's home and his new mother sent him and his sister 
to this school for a few weeks when he was about eleven 
years old. He went again for one term the next year. 
About six years later he went one term to a school about 
five miles from his home. This was all the schooling he 
ever had. In all he went to school about one year. But 
though he had little chance to go to school he became very 
fond of reading and learned a great deal by himself. He had 
only a few books but these few he read many times. He 
borrowed what books he could from his neighbors and read 
them over and over again. He spent a great deal of time 
studying the Bible and the life of George Washington. He 



178 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

had to work hard helping his father dig out stumps, plow, 
plant, mow grass, chop wood, and build fences, but all his 
spare time he gave to study. When he came home from 
work he would take a piece of corn bread in his hand for 
sup])er and sit down to read his book and then he would 
study till late at night by the light of the wood fire in the 
cabin. During the long winter evenings he would do ex- 
amples in arithmetic with a piece of charcoal on the back of 
a large wooden shovel and when the shovel was covered 
with figures he would shave them off with his knife because 
he had nothing else to do examples on. 

When he did not have to work for his father he worked 
on his neighbors" farms as a laborer, and also as a clerk in 
a village store. 

When he was nineteen years old he and some friends be- 
gan to make voyages down to the city of New Orleans on 
flat boats. On one of these voyages he saw negro slaves 
chained and flogged cruelly. He came home determined to 
do all he could to help the slaves. He told a friend that if 
he ever got a chance to hit slavery he would hit it hard. 

About two years after he began to make voyages to New 
Orleans his father moved again. This was in the year 1830 
and Abe was now a young man twenty-one years of age, 
nearly six feet and four inches in height, and famous for 
his great strength. He went with his father's family to 
their new home at Decatur. Illinois, nearly two hundred 
miles away, walking and driving an ox team all the way. 

At Decatur a new log cabin had to be built. Abe helped 
his father cut the trees, hew them into timber, and build the 
house. \Vhen the house was done he cut and split rails to 
build a fence around his father's farm. Then he and his 
father planted a field of corn and he left home to take care 
of himself. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



179 



For a while he was a clerk in a grocery store at New 
Salem and was so faithful and honest that people called him 
"Honest Abe." 

The Indians began to burn houses and kill settlers near 
where he lived and he was elected captain of a company of 
troops and started to help fight but another company drove 
off the Indians before he reached them and he did not have 
any share in the fighting. 




Abraham Lincoln 

After he returned from the Indian war he was a store- 
keeper and postmaster and worked some of the time as a 
surveyor. While he was doing these things he used all 
his spare time to study law. Ever since he was a boy he 
had wanted to be a lawyer and now he began to plead cases 
before justices of the peace and in the small country courts. 
He also talked politics and made speeches to the people. 



180 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

They liked his honesty, his common sense, and his speeches 
so well that they elected him to be their representative in 
the legislature. In the legislature he served them well for 
eight years. After this he was married and continued to 
practice law in the city of Springfield, the capital of Illinois. 

In this city he showed the people that he was one of the 
best lawyers among them, but he still kept studying and 
reading. He was not satisfied with his education and he 
meant to learn everything he could that would help him to 
be more successful. His speeches were full of wit ana good 
stories and his advice was full of common sense and wisdom. 
The people liked such a man and they trusted him so much 
that they sent him as their representative to Congress to 
help make laws for the nation. He was in Congress two 
years where he made many speeches against the war with 
Mexico because he thought the United" States did wrong to 
fight with that country. 

After this he was a lawyer again in his home city of 
Springfield. W^hile he was practicing law Congress passed 
a law giving new states the right to choose whether men 
could ow-n slaves in them or not. Before this law was made 
the people could have slaves in the new states south and 
southwest of Missouri but they could not have then.i in the 
new states made farther north. The new lav^- gave them the 
right to have slaves farther north than the old law and ]\Ir. 
Lincoln did not like it. He went to a state fair in Illinois 
and made a speech against it. 

This speech greatlv pleased the people. His party want- 
ed to send him to the United States Senate. In 1858 the 
new Republican party tried to elect him to be Senator. The 
Democrats wanted to elect Stephen A. Douglass, the man 
who had got Congress to pass the law allowing slaves north 
and west of Missouri. Lincoln challenged Douglass to 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 181 

debate the question whether or not the new states ought 
to have slaves. Douglass accepted the challenge. They 
went from town to town together and made many speeches. 
These speeches were printed in the newspapers and read all 
over the United States. The people saw that Lincoln was 
one of the wisest men in the country. 

Douglass Avon the election and was made Senator, but 
Lincoln was not disappointed. He did not expect to win. 
He knew that Douglass's party had more votes than his own 
party in Illinois, but he was thinking of something else. 
Douglass wanted to be President of the LTnited States. So 
did Lincoln and he thought that if the people read their 
speeches it would help him to become President. He was 
right. Two years later, in 1860, his party voted for him for 
President and he was elected. 

The people in the Southern states, who had slaves, were 
angry and alarmed. They feared that President Lincoln 
would do something to take away their slaves. Seven of 
the slave states told their Congressmen to come home. They 
said they would no longer be a part of the United States. 
They would have a nation of J;heir own where they could 
have slaves. They elected Jefferson Davis to be their 
President and called their government the "Confederate 
States of America." 

The Confederate States then asked the LTnited States to 
give them all the forts and public buildings in their terri- 
tory. President Lincoln told them that they had no right 
to leave the Union without the consent of the rest of the 
states and he said that they could not have any property 
that belonged to the Union. The Southern states then be- 
gan war by firing on Fort Sumter and capturing it. 

President Lincoln called for soldiers to protect the Union 
and four more Southern states joined the Confederates. 



182 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

The war was long and bloody. At first President Lin- 
coln did not know whether it was wise to free the slaves or 
not, but after a while he decided that it ought to be done. 
On January 1, 1863, he issued a statement called the Eman- 
cipation Proclamation which said that all the slaves in the 
states that were fighting against the Union should be free. 
This was the grandest thing done by President Lincoln in 
his life. Millions of slaves were made free men and women 
and this deed will cause Lincoln's name to be always re- 
membered. 

About six months after the Emancipation Proclamation 
was issued, the great battle of the war was fought at Gettys- 
burg in the state of Pennsylvania. The Confederate army 
under General Lee was defeated and driven south to Vir- 
ginia. Many thousands of the Union soldiers who were 
killed in that battle were buried on the field where they had 
fought and died. A few weeks later the ground where they 
were buried was dedicated as a National Cemetery. Presi- 
dent Lincoln was there to attend the exercises. A great 
orator named Edward Everett made a long speech and when 
he had finished thousands of people applauded what he had 
said. Then President Lincoln rose and spoke a few kind 
and beautiful words. The people listened as if charmed. 
When he had finished there was little applause. The people 
were silent because their hearts were thrilled by the simple 
words of the great kindhearted man. At first the President 
thought they did not care for what he had said, l)ut in a 
few days he got letters from all over the Union telling him 
how much the people loved his Gettysburg address. 

It is one of the finest speeches ever spoken. Thousands 
of school children have learned its beautiful words by heart. 
Every year on Memorial Day the old soldiers of the Union 
Army ask to hear these words read or spoken to them as 
they meet to place flowers on the graves of their comrades. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 183 

The Battle of Gettysburg was a great loss to the Confed- 
eracy, still they would not give up fighting. The war last- 
ed almost two years longer. There were many more great 
battles. President Lincoln gave all his time and strength 
to save the Union. He was elected President for another 
four years and began his second term of ofifice March 4, 
1865. The next month the war was ended. The Confed- 
erates surrendered. The Union was saved and there was 
great rejoicing in the Northern states. But in a few days 
the rejoicing changed to mourning. A misguided man who 
thought that Lincoln ought to be killed shot him one even- 
ing as he was listening to a play at a theater. On April 15, 
1865, he died. He was one of the wisest and best of men 
and his country will never cease to love and honor his name. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE EM.^NCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President cf the 
United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States, 
in time of actual rebellion against the authority and govern- 
ment of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war 
measure for suppressing said rebellion do, on this first day 
of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- 
dred and sixty-three, order and declare that 

all persons held as slaves within said designated states and 
parts of states are and henceforward shall be free ; and that 
the Executive Government of the United States, including 
the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize 
and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby 
enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain 
from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence ; and I 
recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they 
labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 



184 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

Lincoln's Gettysburg address. 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
on this continent a new nation, conceived in Hberty, and ded- 
icated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great ci\il war. testing wliether 
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, 
can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that 
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as 
a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that 
the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper 
that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot 
consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, 
living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far 
above our power to add or detract. The world will little 
note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never 
forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, 
to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they v, ho 
fought here ha\e thus far so nol)ly advanced. It is rather 
for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining be- 
fore us, that from these honored dead we take increased 
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full 
measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these 
dead shall not have died in vain ; that this nation, under 
God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that govern- 
ment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not 
perish from the earth. 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

On the 27th of x-\pril, 1822, a boy was born in a small 
two-room cabin in the village of Point Pleasant in southern 
Ohio. The name given to this boy v.as Hiram Ulysses 
Grant. His father a\ as a farmer and v. hen the boy v. as 
old enough he was taught to do such work as boys can do 
on a farm and also v ent regularly to the village school. He 
liked horses and could ride very well. When he was about 
ten years old his father's family moved to Georgetown, 
Ohio, and there owned a tannery, a place v, here the hides of 
cattle were made into leather. 

For about seven years young Grant helped his father at 
the tannery, and did the ploughing and teaming on the farm. 
When he was seventeen years old his father wanted him to 
go to the military school at W'est Point on the Hudson. A 
congressman from Ohio v, as asked to help the boy enter 
the school. The congressman forgot the boy's first name 
and when he filled out the paper needed to get him permis- 
sion to go to West Point he wrote the name Ulysses Simp- 
son Grant. Young Grant kept this name all his life. 

He passed the examinations required to enter the school. 
Four years later he was graduated. He had learned much 
that would be of use to him as a soldier and he was famous 
as a horseman. He v^anted to be a cavalryman in the army 
but was disappointed. He was sent to St. Louis and given 
a position as an officer in the infantry. 

In 1846 the United States got into a v ar with Mexico. 
Grant was sent to this war and was in it from the beginning 



186 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



to the end taking an active part in every Ijattle but one. 
He was noted for his bravery and self-control. At the battle 
of Monterey his skill as a horseman was of great value to his 
soldiers. They needed powder. General Twiggs, who had 
the powder, was four miles away. Grant offered to go to 
General Twiggs and ask him to send it to the soldiers. To 
do so he must go through a part of the town where the 
enemy were. At the street crossings the enemy would fire 
at him and the ride would be very dangerous. Fixing one 




Ulysses S. Grant. 

foot in his saddle he clung to his horse's neck with one arm 
and let his body swing at the side of the horse away from 
the enemy. Then he started his horse as fast as it could 
run and crossed the streets so quickly that the Mexicans 
hardly had time to fire before he was out of sight. He made 
the journey unharmed. 

When the war was over he returned home and was mar- 
ried to Miss Julia Dent. After this he was sent with a 
regiment of soldiers to Vancouver, Oregon, and a year later 
was made captain and sent to Fort Humbolt in California. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 187 

He did not like this kind of life and wanted to be with his 
wife ana children. 

He resigned from the army and went to St. Louis. Near 
the city his wife had a farm. On this he built a log cabin 
and named it "Hard Scrabble." For about four years he 
was a farmer and worked hard raising corn, wheat, and 
potatoes. He and his wife's cousin also tried the business 
of buying and selling land but finding that this business was 
not large enough to support two families they gave it up. 

He next w^ent to Galena, Illinois, and worked as a clerk 
in his father's store. The Civil War began and President 
Lincoln asked for troops. A meeting was held in Galena 
to form a company to join the Union army. Captain Grant 
was made president of the meeting because he had been a 
soldier and when the company was formed he left his work 
in the store in order to drill the men for war. They asked 
him to be their captain, but he said, "I have been a captain 
in the regular army. I am fitted to command a regiment." 
The Governor of Illinois employed him to form other com- 
panies of troops and at the end of five weeks he was appoint- 
ed colonel of a regiment, the Twenty-first Regiment of Illi- 
nois Infantry. He made this regiment the best regiment 
from his state and was appointed commander of all the 
troops at Mexico, Missouri. Here he showed himself so 
good a comamnder that President Lincoln made him a 
brigadier-general. 

In February, 1862, he was sent with seventeen thousand 
men and a number of gunboats to capture two strong forts 
held by the Confederate army in northern Tennessee. After 
three days' fighting, General Buckner, the commander of 
one of the forts, sent a message to General Grant asking 
what terms he would give him if he surrendered the fort. 
General Grant sent back this leply: "No terms except un- 
conditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I 



188 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

propose to move immediately upon your works." General 
Buckner knew that General Grant meant exactly what he 
said and he surrendered the fort and 15,000 men. This was 
the greatest victory that the Union army had won and 
there was great rejoicing. General U. S. Grant was called 
"Unconditional Surrender Grant." He was now promoted 
and made a major-general. 

General Grant now fought against the Confederate gen- 
eral, Albert Sidney Johnson, at Shiloh, in southern Ten- 
nessee. General Johnson was killed and his army driven 
into Mississippi. 

The next great battle of General Grant was at Vicksburg, 
"the Gilbraltar of the ^Mississippi River." In five battles he 
drove back the Confederates outside the city. He next de- 
termined to starve the city until it should surrender. Many 
people thought this could not be done and believed that 
Grant ought not to be allowed to try to do a thing so fool- 
ish. In a few \\eeks the city had nothing to eat and had to 
surrender to General Grant. He received nearly 30,000 pris- 
oners, the largest army at that time that any general had 
ever captured on the American Continent. The praises of 
the hero of V^icksburg were heard throughout the Union. 
He was made commander of all the armies in the Mississippi 
Valley. 

In 1864 President Lincoln decided to make him com- 
mander of all the armies of the Union. The war had been 
going on three years and the President had been disappoint- 
ed in nearly all his generals except General Grant. Others 
had won some splendid victories. General Meade had won 
the battle of Gettysburg, one of the greatest battles of the 
war, but no one seemed equal to General Grant. He suc- 
ceeded everywhere that success was possible ; so in March, 
1864, he was asked to go to Washington to be made Lieu- 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 189 

tenant-General. This title was the same that General 
Washington had had and was the highest that had ever 
been given by the United States. 

General Grant now had an army of 700,000 men. Yiv- 
ginia was the greatest battle ground of the war. General 
Lee was there and for three years he had defeated every 
army sent against him. Grant determined to defeat Lee's 
army and capture the city of Richmond, the capital of the 
Confederacy. It took him a year to carry out his plan. 
Battle after battle was fought, still Lee was not defeated, 
but Grant never thought of giving up. He said, "I shall 
fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." It did take 
all summer and it also took all winter, but in the spring on 
April 3, 1865, General Grant entered the city of Richmond. 
He had won the prize. 

Six days later General Lee surrendered all that was left 
of the Confederate army. General Grant did not make 
prisoners of these soldiers. They promised not to fight any 
more and he sent them home. He told them to take their 
horses also for they would need them for the spring plowing 
and the work on the farms. General Lee was very thank- 
ful to General Grant because he had been so kind to his 
soldiers. To honor General Grant for what he had done for 
his country Congress voted him a higher title than any man, 
even Washington had ever had before. They made him 
General of the United States armies. 

At the next Presidential election General Grant was hon- 
ored with the office of President of the United States and 
four years later he was elected for another term. While he 
was President he did all he could to make peace and friend- 
ship between the states that had been at v\ar. His kindness 
made friends of many Southern soldiers who had fought 
against him in battle. 



190 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

In 1878 he started on a journey around the world. Every- 
V. here that he went he was welcomed and honored by kings 
and emperors and the people of their countries. 

After he returned to the United States he moved to the 
city of New York and went into business with a partner. 
All his money was put into the firm. He was in poor health 
and allowed others to manage the business. The firm failed 
and he lost every dollar he had. 

He was now an old man, with no money, and suffering 
from disease which he knew would soon send him to his 
grave. Still he did not surrender to despair. He thought 
of his wife who would be left penniless when he was gone 
and he began to write a book to earn money to take care of 
her. In his illness and pain he worked upon this book al- 
most to the day of his death. On July 1, 1885, he wrote the 
last words of his "Memoirs," a history of his life. On July 
2Z, he died. 

His widow received more than $400,000 from the sale 
of the Memoirs. The grateful people of his country con- 
tributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to erect a tomb 
above his body on the bank of the beautiful Hudson River. 
At his funeral was seen the largest and grandest procession 
that had ever honored the funeral of any American. When 
his body was carried to its tomb on the Hudson the Presi- 
dent and Vice-President of the United States and the rep- 
resentatives of many states and nations came to w itness the 
ceremony. Great warships from the American navy and 
the navies of foreign countries were on the Hudson. The 
river bank for miles was decorated with the flags of many 
nations and 60,000 men walked in procession to honor the 
memory of the hero who fought for his country's honor and 
glory and when the war was over, said to all his country- 
men, "Let us have peace." 



WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

William McKinley was born January 29, 1843, in the 
village of Niles in the state of Ohio. As soon as he was old 
enough he was sent to the village school, which he attended 
regularly until he was eleven years old. His teachers found 
that he was a good boy, bright and healthy and willing to 
study. He did well in his studies and when he was about 
eleven years old his father moved with the family to Po- 
land, Ohio, because the schools were better there. 

William at once entered an excellent school called the 
Union Seminary. Here he studied until he was seventeen 
years of age and was known as one of the best scholars in 
the school. He was fond of mathematics and languages and 
loved to read the poems of Longfellow and Whittier. The 
students of the school had a debating society and young 
McKinley was one of their best debaters. This practice 
in speaking was a good thing for the young students and it 
helped McKinley to become one of the best debaters and 
speakers in the Avhole country. 

In 1860 he left the Seminary and went to Allegheny Col- 
lege at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Here he entered one of 
the higher classes and would have graduated the next year 
if his health had been good. He had studied so hard that he 
had to leave school to rest and get back his strength. As 
soon as he was strong enough he taught a country school 
for a few months and then got a position as clerk in the 
Poland post office. 



192 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 



When he was working- in the post office the Civil War 
began and one evening in June, 1861, a war meeting was 
held at the Sparrow Inn, the village hotel of Poland. One 
of the men made a speech which ended wdth these w^ords : 
"Our country's flag has been shot at. * * * Who will 
be the first to defend it?" Many men and grown up boys 




Williiim McKinley. 

arose and said they would fight to save their country. One 
of the first to give his njime was William McKinley, then 
a slim gray-eyed youth eighteen years of age. Without 
delay these volunteers went to Columbus, Ohio, and enlist- 
ed in the Twenty-third Ohio Regiment of Infantry. This 
regiment was one of the most noted in the war. In it were 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 193 

many men who afterward became famous in the history of 
the country. 

Within a year McKinley was appointed sergeant of a 
company of soldiers. He was in many battles and proved 
himself a good and brave officer. He was promoted many 
times and finally received from President J.incoln the title 
of Major because of "gallant and meritorious services." Mc- 
Kinley served four years in the war and when it was over 
he went back to Ohio and studied law for two years. 

He began his practice as a lawyer at Canton, Ohio. Be- 
sides attending to his duties as a lawyer he also took an in- 
terest in politics. After the war was over some people 
thought the negroes in the southern states ought to have 
the right to vote. Other people said "No!" McKinley 
said "Yes !" and he made many speeches in favor of the 
negroes. These speeches made him many friends and he 
was asked to make speeches on many other political ques- 
tions. 

So famous did he become that the people of Ohio sent 
him to Congress. In Congress he made many speeches in 
favor of a high protective tariff. He thought the United 
States ought to put a high tax, or tariff', on goods brought 
here from other countries because this would prevent foreign 
goods from being sold at a low price. If the price of foreign 
goods was kept high he said it would make more and bet- 
ter sales for goods made in the United States. They said 
the tax would protect the sale of home-made goods. That 
is why it is called a protective tariff". 

Congressman McKinley was made Chairman of the 
Ways and Means Committee, one of the most important 
committees of Congress. This committee helps Congress 
prepare tariff' laws whenever they think a new law is needed. 
When McKinley was Chairman he helped make a new 
tariff law which Congress approved. It was called the Mc- 



194 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 

Kinley Tariff law. This law made McKinley so many 
friends that the next year he was made Governor of Ohio 
As Governor he was so well liked that the people elected 
him a second time. Then all over the country his friends 
in the Republican party said he must be their candidate for 
President. In 1896 they made him their candidate and he 
was elected to the highest office in the United States 

While he was President a cruel war was going on in 
Cuba. Spain owned the island and treated the people so 
cruelly that they rebelled and fought for their liberty. 
^^^^en the Spanish generals saw that they could not conquer 
the Cubans in any other way they began to drive the Cu- 
bans who were not in the army into camps and there starve 
them to death. Alen, women, and children who would not 
go to these camps were put to death. Many people in the 
United States thought this country ought to help Cuba. 
President McKinley asked Spain to put an end to this 
cruelty. 

Then a United States warship, named the Maine, went 
to Cuba on a visit. While in the harbor of Havana this 
ship was destroyed by an explosion. Two hundred and 
sixty-six men were killed. The people of the United States 
believed that Spaniards had caused the explosion and they 
wanted to go to war with Spain. 

President McKinley asked Congress to give him the right 
to stop the war in Cuba. Congress gave the President this 
right and when Spain refused to leave the island he declared 
war. He then sent soldiers and warships against Spain 
and destroyed her Avarships and conquered her arniy. Spain 
surrendered Cuba and also many other islands that had been 
captured by the Americans. Among these were the Philip- 
pine Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, which now belong to the 
United States. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 195 

The people were so well pleased with President McKin- 
ley that they elected him again in 1900. Everywhere in the 
world he had friends because of his kindness and goodness. 
Men of all political parties loved him and respected him. 
Only one class of men hated him. These were the cruel 
anarchists who hate all law and all rulers and who seek to 
kill and destroy all Presidents and officers who make them 
obey the laws and punish them for their crimes. 

One of these men followed President McKinley to the 
city of Buffalo where he went to attend a great exposition 
and speak to the people. While the President was shakmg 
hands with the men and women who came to greet him, this 
man who had come to murder him, shot him twice. A few 
days later, September 14, 1901, the President died. All the 
nation mourned. For five minutes during his funeral all 
factories, all railroad trains and street cars, and all machin- 
ery in the United States stood still while the people paused 
in their w^ork to think kindly of the friend they had lost, 
the good man who had gone to his rest. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP. 

197. Criminal Laws. Criminal laws are made to pro- 
tect the lives, the property, and the rights of the people. 
If persons destroy the property that others have earned, or 
take it for their own use without pay ; if they deprive their 
neighbors of any of their rights, or prevent them from en- 
joying life and liberty, the government must interfere. The 
government must protect those who suffer from any wrong. 
If it did not do this it would not be a good government. A 
good government must protect its citizens and make them 
free to do what is right. It cannot do this so long as bad 
people or even careless people are free to interfere with 
others and to do w hat is wrong ; so the people decide wdiat 
things it is wrong to do and then make laws to stop people 
from doing them. Those who break the laws may be made 
to pay a fine or to go to jail, and if they commit a very 
serious crime, such as robbery or destroying valuable prop- 
erty, or putting another's life in danger they may be sent 
to prison for many years. The main object of the law is 
not to punish for doing wrong but to prevent wrong doing 
and to cause people to do right. 

198. Courts. In order to enforce the laws there nuist 
be officers to arrest those who break them, and courts to 

197. Why are criminal laws necessary? What must a 
good government do? 

198. What kind of courts tries criminal cases that are 
not very serious? What cases are taken to the county or 
the state court? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 197 

hear what the lawbreakers have done and to decide what to 
do with them. In villages and towns criminal cases that 
are not very serious are heard by the local judge, or justice. 
In the cities such cases are tried in the police courts. If a 
case is too serious to be tried in these courts it is taken to 
the county or the state court. 

199. Kinds of Cases. When one person or a business 
firm or corporation owes money to another and does not pay 
when asked to do so, or when any two persons or parties 
can not agree about the settlement of their business deal- 
ings with each other, the one who thinks he has been 
wronged may sue the other and make him go to court and 
have the case settled. Such a case is called a civil case. 
All cases where the court is asked to settle a dispute about 
property or business belong to this class. 

The man or party who sues another and makes him go 
to court is called the plaintiff. The one who is sued is called 
the defendant. 

It may be that neither party in such a case breaks any 
law or commits any crime, but when a person steals, or 
creates a disturbance in the street, or strikes another and 
injures him, or does anything that the law forbids because 
the people say it is wrong, such a person is a criminal. He 
breaks the law and the government must interfere. When 
he is arrested the town, the city or the state is the plaintiff. 
The criminal is the defendant. His case is called a criminal 
case. 

200, A Criminal Case. If a man has committed a crime, 
some one who is injured by it goes to a justice and makes a 

199. What is a civil case? Who is the plaintiff? The 
defendant? What is a criminal case? 

200. How is the complaint in a criminal case made? 
What is a warrant? What is a subpoena? 



198 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

complaint. The complaint must be in writing. It tells the 
name and residence of the person who is charged with the 
crime, and when and where the crime was committed. It 
then asks to have the person arrested. 

The justice gives a constable or a policeman a war- 
rant which tells him to find the person who is charged with 
the crime and bring him to the court. When the person is 
brought to the court the justice sets a time for his trial, or 
examination. 

. The next step is for the justice to give the officer a paper 
called a subpoena telling him to summon witnesses to come 
to the trial and tell what they know about the case. 

201. The Trial. At the trial the prisoner is asked to 
plead. The charges against him are first read to him and 
then he is asked whether he is guilty or not guilty. If he 
pleads "guilty," the justice sentences him. The sentence is 
usually to pay a certain fine or to spend a certain time in 
jail, or to do both. If he pleads "not guilty," his case must 
be tried. 

202. The Testimony. The witnesses against him are 
first examined, ^^'hen they have told their story the prison- 
er or his lawyer may cross-question them to test their truth- 
fulness and to bring out other facts in favor of the prisoner. 
Then the witnesses for the prisoner are examined. These 
may be cross-questioned by the lawyer for the government. 

203. Argument. After all the witnesses have been ex- 
amined each of the lawyers makes an address to the court 
and tries to show reasons why the court should make a de- 
cision in favor of his side. ^ 

201. What is a prisoner in court always asked before 
he is tried? 

202. Why are witnesses examined? 

203. What is the purpose of arguments by lawyers? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 199 

204. The Verdict. After the evidence and the argu- 
ments comes the judge's decision. If he thinks the case 
against the prisoner has been proved he decides that the 
prisoner is guilty and tells him what his fine or his sentence 
is to be. If he does not think the prisoner guilty he tells 
him that he is free. 

205. Appeal. If the prisoner is declared guilty and he 
is not satisfied with his trial he can appeal. This means 
that the justice must let his case go to the county court to 
be tried over again. 

206. Jurisdiction. The law tells what kind of cases the 
justice and the police courts can try. Usually these courts 
can try only small cases, that is, cases where the sentence 
can be only a small fine or a short time in jail. We say that 
a court has jurisdiction over the kind of cases that it can 
try. If a case is too large for the lower court to -try the 
justice examines the prisoner and, if he thinks there is suf- 
ficient evidence against him. orders him to be held for trial 
at the next session of the higher court. 

207. Bail. When the justice in the lowest court orders 
a prisoner to be held for trial by the higher court we say 
that he "binds him over." This means that the prisoner 
must get some responsible citizen to sign a bond agreeing 
to pay the government a certain sum of money in case the 
prisoner does not appear at the higher court when he is 
called for. This is called giving bail. The amount of money 
to be paid is fixed by the justice and named in the bond. 

204. What is meant by the "verdict"? 

205. What is an appeal? 

206. What is meant by "jurisdiction"? 

207. What does it mean to "bind over" a prisoner? 
What does it mean to give bail? 



200 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

The ol)ject is to ])revent the prisoner from running' away. 
If he does run away the man who signed his bond has the 
right to arrest him if he can find him. If the prisoner has 
no friends who are wilhng to sign a bond for him then he 
must go to jail and wait until the time of his trial. When 
a prisoner is charged with a very serious crime, such as 
murder, he is not allowed to give bail. In such a case he 
must go to jail. 

208. The Grand Jury. Before a prisoner is tried by the 
county court the evidence against him must be examined by 
a number of men selected for that purpose, who are called 
the grand jury. The lawyer for the government writes the 
charges against the prisoner. These charges are called the 
indictment. If a majority (more than half) of the grand 
jurors vote that the prisoner should be tried, he is indicted. 
This means that the foreman of the jury takes the indict- 
ment and writes upon it these words, "A true bill." If the 
jurors vote that the prisoner ought not to be tried, the fore- 
man writes upon the indictment the words "Xot found." and 
the prisoner is free. 

209. The Petit Jury. Cases that are tried by the county 
court are decided by a jury of twelve men selected for the 
purpose. They are called the petit jury. They take an oath 
to decide the case according to the evidence. 

210. The Trial. The trial of a case in the county court 
begins in the way that has already been described for the 
justice court. The plea, the testimony, and the arguments, 
are just the same. Then comes the judge's charge to the 
jury. The judge tells the jury what the law is, what kind 

208. What is the duty of a grand jury? 

209. How many men are required for a petit jury? How 
must they decide a case ? 

210. Describe a case in the countv court. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 201 

of a verdict they must give if they think the charges have 
been proven, and what their verdict should be if they think 
the charges have not been proven. 

211. The Decision. After the judge has made his 
charge to the jurors they leave the court room and go to a 
room by themselves, where they remain in secret until they 
agree. All of the twelve men must vote the same way be- 
fore they can give a verdict. When they have agreed they 
return to the court room and the foreman reports to the 
court what they have decided. Sometimes they can not 
agree and the foreman must report a disagreement. The 
case may then be tried again by another jury. 

212. The Sentence. When a jury have given a verdict 
that a prisoner is guilty the judge must give the sentence. 
He tells the prisoner what his punishment is to be. 

213. Exceptions. While the trial is going on the judge 
makes decisions about the kind of questions that the lawyers 
have a right to ask the witnesses, and about the right way 
for them to manage the case. Sometimes the defendant's 
lawyer thinks these decisions are not correct and he takes 
exceptions to them. The judge may allow these exceptions 
to be recorded. If the defendant is not satisfied with the 
verdict of the jury the exceptions must be examined by the 
Supreme Court before the prisoner can be punished. If the 
Supreme Court decides that the judge was correct the ver- 
dict must stand. If it decides that the judge was wrong the 
case must be tried over again. 

211. \Miat is the method of a jury when deciding a 
case? 

212. Who gives the sentence? 

213. What is meant by taking "exceptions"? 



202 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

214. Civil Cases. In a civil case the parts taken by the 
judge, the lawyers, and the jury are much the same as in 
a criminal case. ])ut the case begins and ends quite differ- 
ently. The defendant is not arrested. He is sued and gen- 
erally some of his property is attached. This means that 
it is held by an officer to be used in settling the case if it 
is decided against. the defendant. If the jury give a verdict 
against the defendant they also decide how much money he 
shall pay to settle the case. 

Certain cases are tried without a jury and then the judge 
decides how much shall be paid. This decision is called the 
judgment of the court. If the defendant settles that ends 
the case. If he refuses to settle the court orders a sheriff 
to sell some of his property to get money with which to 
settle. The law does not allow the sheriff to sell a laborer's 
tools or clothing or household goods, because this would 
take away his means of working and earning a living. 

215. Probate Courts. These are a special kind of courts 
to care for the estates of deceased persons, orphans, and per- 
sons who can not take care of their own property. 

Connecticut and Vermont are divided into districts, each 
having a probate court consisting of a single judge without 
any jury. 

214. How^ does the trial of a civil case differ from the 
trial of a criminal case? 

215. Why do we ha,ve probate courts? Who are the 
court in Connecticut and Vermont? In Rhode Island? In 
other New England states? What must be done if a person 
dies and leaves a will ? If a person who owns property dies 
without a will, what must be done? AMien does the court 
a])point a guardian? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 203 

In Rhode Island each town and city has a probate court. 
In some of the cities this court is a single judge. In the 
small towns the town council usually acts as the court. 

The other three New England states have a probate 
court consisting of a single judge in each county. 

If a person dies and leaves a will telling what is to be 
done with his property, this will must be examined by the 
probate court to see if it is genuine. If the court finds that 
the will is properly made it is recorded. Then the executor 
or person named in the will to distribute the property re- 
ceives papers from the court giving him authority to do 
what the will says shall be done. 

If a person who owns property dies and leaves no will 
the court appoints an administrator to distribute the prop- 
erty among the heirs according to the law of the state. 

If any of the heirs who are to receive property are under 
twenty-one years of age the court appoints a guardian to 
take care of their part of the property until they are twenty- 
one years old. If persons become insane or weak minded 
and cannot care for their own property the court appoints 
a guardian, or conservator, to manage their business for 
them. The court must see to it that all these estates are 
cared for honestly and properly. If disputes arise the court 
must settle them. When the decisions of this court do not 
satisfy the parties concerned they may appeal and have 
the dispute settled by the county court and sometimes by 
the supreme court. 



BUSINESS METHODS. 

216. Making Contracts. In doing business we must 
make a great many bargains and agreements with others. 
Often a long time must pass after an agreement is made 
before it is all carried out. Sometimes people forget their 
agreements. Sometimes they are unwilling to carry them 
out. For this reason the law gives certain rules that should 
be followed in making bargains and contracts. If these 
rules are followed the courts will make the parties keep 
their agreements. 

217. Nature of a Contract. When any two persons 
make an agreement in which each one says that he will do 
something for the other in return for something which he 
is to receive from the other, such an agreement is called a 
contract. 

If the agreement is an ordinary bargain, such as where 
one person sells another a certain article for which the other 
agrees to pay a certain price in a short time, the agreement 
does not have to l^e in writing. A verbal contract is good 
in law and the courts will enforce it if they have proof that 
it was made and understood by both parties. Verbal con- 
tracts, however, are never so safe as written ones, because 
if there is a dispute it is hard to prove just what the agree- 

216. Why is it necessary to have rules about making 
contracts? 

217. What is a contract? When is a verbal contract 
good in law? What is better than a verbal contract? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 205 

ment was. Verbal contracts should be made only when we 
know that we are dealing with persons who are thoroughly 
reliable and when the amount of property involved is small 
and the time between the agreement and the settlement is 
to be short. 

218. Written Contracts. There are some kinds of con- 
tracts that the law says must be in writing. If they are not 
written the courts will not help enforce them. For instance : 

1. Every contract to sell real estate must be in writing. 

2. Every contract which is not to be carried out until a 
year or more after it is made must be written. 3. A lease 
for a store or any other property is not good for more than 
one year unless it is in writing. 4. An agreement to be re- 
sponsible for another person's debts must be in writing. 

219. Poor Contracts. Some contracts are not good 
even when made in writing. For example, the law will not 
compel a man to try to do what is impossible even though 
he has made a bargain to do it. If a man agrees to do 
something that is contrary to law his agreement is worth- 
less. If drunken persons or insane persons or idiots make 
contracts, the law will not enforce such contracts against 
them, but it will protect them against others wdio try to 
take advantage of them. A contract made with a minor (a 
person who is under twenty-one years of age) is not good 
against the minor unless it is for things which are necessary 
for a minor to have, such as food, clothing, or education. 

220. Conditions of a Good Contract. Two things are 
always necessary to make a contract lawful : — 

218. What four classes of contracts must be made in 
writing? 

219. What kinds of contracts are worthless? 

220. What two conditions are necessary to make a 
good contract? 



206 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

1. Both parties must understand what the contract is 
and what it means. 

2. There must be some consideration. This means that 
if A ag^rees to do something for B, 1^) must also agree to do 
something for A in return. 

221. Form of Written Contract. The law does not re- 
quire any particular form for a written contract. Any writ- 
ing which shows clearly just what each party agrees to do 
for the other and when and where it is to be done is a good 
contract if it is signed by both parties. While any form that 
does this is good, it is the safest and best way to use that 
form w'hich is commonly used by others in the town or city 
where we are doing business. 

222. Buying and Selling, When we go to the bakery 
and buy a loaf of bread or to the shoe-store and buy a pair 
of shoes we usually carry the money and pay for what we 
buy. When the storekeeper buys a large quantity of goods 
for his store he does not do this. Almost all people in 
business who buy and sell large quantities of goods trust 
one another. They buy and sell on credit. This means 
that if we are in business and buy goods, the man who sells 
them to us will wait thirty days before he asks for his 
money. Sometimes he will agree to wait longer. 

Before the end of the thirty days we usually send him 
a check for what w^e owe him. For example, instead of 
sending him our money we keep a sum of money in a bank. 

221. \\niat does the Jaw say about the form of a written 
contract? 

222. ^^'hat is meant by buying and selling on credit? 
How are payments generally made? What is the form of a 
check? What is the usual form of a note? What is a 
deed? \\'ho must record it? \\^hat is a mortgage? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 207 

This sum must be large enough to pay all we owe. Then 
when it is time to pay we send the man a paper called a 
check. This paper he can send to the bank and get his 
money. If he lives a long distance from our bank he can 
send it to his own bank and get the money. His bank will 
send it to another bank and it will keep going until it 
reaches our bank where our money will be used to pay 
back to the other banks the money that they have used to 
pay the check. 

The following is the form of a check. If John Doe lives 
in Suffield, Conn., and keeps his money in the First National 
Bank and owes Richard Roe fifty dollars and twenty-five 
cents, his check would read like this : — 



No. 25 Suffield, Conn., (August 31, 1908. 

Xht first )Vational Bank 

Trde^rTS' %ichard %oe. 

Fifty and ^ Dollars 

$^0-25 John Voe. 



Of course we must always have the money in our bank 
before we can give a man a check. If we do not, neither 
the bank nor other people will trust us and we shall have to 
pay cash for all we buy. . 

There is another way to buy property if we do not have 
the money on hand. If people know that we are honest 
and can pay them later when they want the money they 



208 AMERICAN CITIZENSJIIP 

will sell us property and take our note. A note is a 
promise to pay at a later day. The following is the form 
of a note : — 



$100.00 Hartford, Conn,, August /, 1908. 

Six months from date, for J?alue receitfed, 
I promise to pay James Day, or order, 
One Hundred 'Dollars, 

John Doe, 



Sometimes we have to pay interest to the man who 
waits for his money. Perhaps we pay five cents or si.x 
cents a year on every dollar we owe. If there is to be 
interest this must also be mentioned in the note. When" we 
give a man our note we ought always to be quite sure that 
we can pay it on time. After they are due we must pay 
interest on all notes. If we wait a long time and pay 
interest this may amount to a large sum of extra money 
that we nuist pay. 

\Mien people buy land and houses they receive a deed 
showing that they own what they have bought. This deed 
must be taken to the town clerk or the city registrar and 
recorded. If they do not have the money to pay for their 
house and land they give a note and also give a mortgage 
to the man who sells t>hem the i)roperty. The mortgage 
is a kind of deed that gives the man a right to take the 
property again and sell it to some one else if we do not pay 
our note on time. Poor people should be very careful about 
giving mortgages. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 209 

223. Savings Banks. These are the poor man's friends. 
They take our money and lend it to business men and use 
it in ways that will bring them a profit. They pay us 
interest for the use of it and keep it safe for us. By putting 
money in these banks people save enough to buy themselves 
good homes and to take care of themselves when they are 
old. There is one thing to be careful about. Do not put 
money in a bank unless the men who manage it are honest. 

224. Corporations. Companies of business men called 
Industrial Companies or Corporations, do a large part of 
the business in America. These men go to the state legisla- 
ture or to some state officer and get a charter. This tells 
wdiat kind of business they want to do. The laws tell them 
how they must do it. 

These companies usually sell shares in their business. 
These shares are called stocks. If the value of one share is 
One Hundred Dollars, we can buy it at that price. At the 
end of a year, if the company have done a good business, 
they divide the profits among the people who own the 
shares. Our part of the profit is called our dividend. If we 
want our money back we can sell our share, or shares, to 
someone else. If our dividend was large we can get more 
than One Hundred Dollars for each share. If our dividend 
was small we may have to sell for less than we paid. 

People called brokers buy and sell stocks for a living. 
They sell the stocks of railroad companies, mining compa- 
nies, banking companies, manufacturing companies, and 
trading companies of all sorts. It is a good thing to own 
shares in these companies if we are very sure that the men 

223. How are savings banks helpful to people? 

224. What is a corporation? What are stocks? What 
are dividends? What are brokers? What is said of com- 
panies that tell us how to "get rich quick"? 



210 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

who manage them are honest and know how to be suc- 
cessful. Sometimes dishonest men form companies and sell 
stocks to get people's money and then cheat them. Some- 
times, too, honest men fail in business and people who buy 
their stocks lose their money. We should be very, very 
careful to know that a company is good before we buy its 
stocks. We should never trust companies who tell us we 
shall be sure to "get rich quick" if we buy their stocks or let 
them have our money. Many people have lost all their 
money by trusting such companies. They are never safe. 

225. Receipts. When we pay a man any large sum of 
money we should always get a receipt from him to prove 
that we have paid it. 

The following are good forms : — 



$25.00 Hartford, Conn., August /. 1908. 

Received of John Doe, 
Tiventy-fi'he Dollars, in full of account to date, 

John Smith, 

If we pay part of what we owe our receipt may read : 

$15.00 Springfield, Mass,, August I, 1908, 

Received of John Roe, 
Fifteen Dollars, to apply on his account, 

John Doe, 

225. What is a receipt? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 211 

Useful Facts. The following facts and tables are much 
used in business : 

10 mills make one cent. 
10 cents make one dime. 
10 dimes make one dollar. 
100 cents make one dollar. 
We have no piece of money called a mill, but we use 
mills in reckoning interest and taxes. 

12 things make one dozen. 
144 things make one gross 
16 ounces make one pound. 
100 pounds make one hundred weight. 
2000 pounds make one ton. 
2 pints make one quart. 
4 quarts make one gallon. 
We use these measures Avhen we buy and sell milk, 
molasses, or oil, etc. 

2 pints make one quart. 
8 quarts make one peck 
4 pecks make one bushel. 

W^e use these measures for apples, potatoes, beans, ber- 
ries, etc. 

12 inches make one foot. 

3 feet make one yard. 
16^ feet make one rod. 
320 rods make one mile. 




NATURALIZATION. 

226. Definition. The process by which a person who 
was born in a foreign country may become a citizen of the 
United States is called Naturalization. Every person who 
is to live in this country should become a citizen. In this 
way he can vote and help make the laws and make his life 
more useful and happy. 

227. Intention. Any foreigner who is eighteen years of 
age, or older, may go to the clerk of one of the courts in the 
state where he lives and fill out a paper declaring his inten- 
tion to become a citizen of the United States and to give up 
his citizenship in any other country. He then pays a fee of 
one dollar and receives a certificate commonly called the 
"first papers." 

226. What is naturalization? Why should people who 
come to America to live be naturalized? 

227. Who may declare his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States ? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 213 

The following is the form to be used when declaring 
one's intention to become a citizen : — 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Department of Commerce and Labor 

Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization 

Division of Naturalization 

DECLARATION OF INTENTION 

(Invalid for all purposes seven years after the date hereof) 

In the Court 

ss : 

of 

I, , aged years, 

declare on oath , ^ . 

occupation , do affirm ^ """^ personal 

description is : Color , complexion , 

height feet inches, weight pounds, 

color of hair , color of eyes 

other visible distinctive marks 

; I was born in 

, on the day of , anno 

Domini 1 ; I now reside at 

I emigrated to the United States of America from 

on the vessel ; my last 

foreign residence was 

It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance 
and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sov- 
ereignty, and particularly to 

citizen ; I 

, of which I am now a subject ; I 

arrived at the port of , in the 

State 
District 

Territory of on or about the day 

of , anno Domini 1 ; I am not an anarchist ; 

I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of 



214 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

polygamy ; and it is my intention in good faith to become a 
citizen of the United States of America and to permanently 
reside therein ; 
SO HELP ME GOD. 



(Original signature of declarant.) 



sworn to 
Subscribed and affirmed before me this 



day of , anno Domini 19 

SEAL. 

Clerk of the Court. 

By ... , Clerk. 

228. The Petition. After he has lived in the United 
States five years, provided it is two years since he declared 
his intention to become a citizen and one year since he made 
his home in the state where he applies for citizenship, he 
may go to court again and petition to be made a citizen. 
The following is the form of the petition he must use : — 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Department of Commerce and Labor 

Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization 

Division of Naturalization 

PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION. 

Court of 

In the matter of the petition of 

to be admitted a citizen of the United States of America. 

To the Court of ; 

The petition of respectfully shows : 

First, My full name is 



228. When may a foreigner petition to be made a 
citizen? What must he prove by witnesses? What oath 
must he take? Who besides himself are made citizens 
when a man receives his certificate of naturalization? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 215 



Second. My place of residence is number 

street, 

town 



city o^ 

State 

District 

Territory of 

Third. My occupation is 

Fourth. I was born on the day of 

anno Domini 1 , at 

Fifth. I emigrated to the United States from 

on or about the day of 

anno Domini 1 , and arrived at the port of 

in the United States, on the vessel 

Sixth. I declared my intention to become a citizen of 

the United States on the day of 

anno Domini 1 at , in the 

Court of 

Seventh. I am .... married. My wife's name is 

She was born in 

and now resides at I have children, 

and the name, date and place of birth, and place of resi- 
dence of each of said children is as follows : 



Eighth. I am not a disbeliever in or opposed to organ- 
ized government or a member of or affiliated with any or- 
ganization or body of persons teaching disbelief in organized 
government. I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the 
practice of polygamy. I am attached to the principles of 
the Constitution of the United States, and it is my intention 
to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce 
absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any for- 



216 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

cign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particular- 
ly to of which at this time 

J citizen , . . . . 

i am a ^.^j^jp^*. and it is my intention to reside permanently 

in the L'nited States. 

Ninth. I am able to speak the English language. 

Tenth. I have resided continuously in the United States 
of America for a term of five years at least immediately pre- 
ceding the date of this petition, to wit, since the day 

of anno Domini 1 and in the 

State 
District 
Territory of for one year at least 

preceding the date of this petition, to wit, since the 

day of , anno Domini 19. . . . 

Eleventh. I have not heretofore made petition for citi- 
zenship to any court (I made petition for citizenship to the 

Court of at 

on the day of , anno Domini 1 .... , 

and the said petition was denied by the said Court for the 
following reasons and causes, to wit 

and the cause of such denial has since been cured or re- 
moved). 

Attached hereto and made a part of this petition are my 
declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United 
States and the certificate from the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor required by law. ^^'herefore your peti- 
tioner prays that he may be admitted a citizen of the United 
States of America. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 217 

Dated ,19.... 

(Signature of petitioner.) 



ss 



, being duly sworn, deposes 

and says that he is the petitioner in the above entitled pro- 
ceeding ; that he has read the foregoing petition and knows 
the contents thereof; that the same is true of his own knowl- 
edge, except as to matters therein stated to be alleged upon 
information and belief, and that as to those matters he be- 
lieves it to be true. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 

day of , anno Domini 19 ... . 

, Clerk, 

By Clerk. 

Seal. 
Declaration of Intention and Certificate of Landing from 
Department of Commerce and Labor filed this day of 

, 19.... 

, Clerk, 

By Clerk. 

Ninety days after he makes this petition he must go 
again with two witnesses. They must testify that he has 
lived in the country five years and is a man of good moral 
character. He must take an oath to support the Consti- 
tution of the United States and to give up being a citizen 
of any other country. He must also speak the English 
language. He then pays a fee of two dollars and receives 
his certificate of naturalization. This makes him a citizen. 
It also makes citizens of his wife and his children who are 
under twenty-one years of age. 



218 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 

The following shows the statement that must be made 
by the two witnesses who testify to the residence and char- 
acter of the man who wishes to become a citizen : 

AFFIDAVIT OF WITNESSES. 

Court of 

In the matter of the petition of 

to be admitted a citizen of the United States of America. 



ss : 



occupation , 

residing at and occu- 
pation residing at 

each being severally, duly, and respectively sworn, deposes 
and says that he is a citizen of the United States of Ameri- 
ca ; that he has personally known , 

the petitioner above mentioned, to be a resident of the 
United States for a period of at least five years continuously 
immediately preceding the date of filing his petition, and 

State 
of the Territory in which the above-entitled application is 
District 

made for a period of years immediately preceding 

the date of filing his petition ; and that he has personal 
knowledge that the said petitioner is a person of good 
moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, and that he is in every way quali- 
fied, in his opinion, to be admitted a citizen of the United 
States. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this day 

of anno Domini 19. . . . 

Seal. 

, Clerk. 

Bv Clerk. 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 219 

229. Voting. Alen citizens can vote if they fulfill cer- 
tain conditions. They must be twenty-one years of age. 
They must live in the state a certain time. In most states 
this is one year. In some states it is less than one year. 
In Rhode Island it is two years. In Connecticut, Massa- 
chusetts, and Rhode Island they must also live in the town 
or city six months. Other states have rules of their own 
about this residence. 

Every one who has fulfilled these conditions must also 
go to the proper clerk or registration officer and see that his 
name is placed on the list of voters. The right to vote is 
one of the most important rights that an American citizen 
can have and he should neglect none of its conditions, but 
be sure to use all its privileges. 

229. What is necessary before a man can vote? 



AMERICAN LIFE. 

EDUCATION, 

230. Public Schools. We need to be educated so as to 
know how to work and get a good living for ourselves and 
our relatives who depend upon us. 

But it is not enough to know how to work. We need 
also to know about our country and our government in 
order to know how to do our part in governing ourselves 
and others and making our country a good place to live in. 

If we are educated and our neighbors are not they may 
make a great deal of trouble by not knowing the laws and 
what is right or wrong to do. So we have laws in all the 
states that all children must go to school and we make the 
jniblic schools free so that all, even the poorest, can go. 
In many schools the books are also free. For example, in 
all the schools of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and in 
many of the towns and cities of Connecticut, the books are 
bought by the town or city and lent to the pupils. 

231. Evening Schools. Many working people want to 
get an education but cannot attend day schools. Most large 
towns and cities have evening schools to help such people. 
Many thousands of those who come from foreign countries 
wish to learn to read and write English and to learn what 

230. Why is education important? 

231. Why are evening schools held in cities and large 
towns? What are some of the important studies? 



AMERICAN LIFE 221 



will be useful to them in getting a living. These schools 
take especial pains to teach things that will help make good 
workmen and good citizens. 

One very useful subject for all who work in machine 
shops, or for carpenters or builders, is drawing. Arithmetic 
is very important in every kind of business. The study of 
our country's history and our laws and customs will help 
make us more useful and happy. ]\Iany people are clomg 
better work and earning larger wages because of the educa- 
tion they have received in evening schools. 

232, High Schools. Every boy or girl who goes 
through our town or city graded schools and learns well 
what is taught in the common English subjects such as 
reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geography 
and history, can go to high school and get a still better 
education. The high schools, like the graded schools, are 
free to the pupils. In the large cities there are evening high 
schools for those who are prepared to enter them. 

233. Colleges. There are colleges in all parts of the 
country for those who can go farther than the high schools. 
These help prepare men and women to become lawyers, 
doctors, clergymen, teachers, and to fill positions requiring 
much learning and training. 

In many of the Western states the colleges are free. In 
New England they are usually not quite free, but they 
charge students only a small part of what it really costs to 
teach them. Those who are poor can often get special help 
to make it easier for them to pay their expenses. Ameri- 

232. What is said about high schools? 

233. Why do people go to college? Are colleges free 
to the people? 



222 AMERICAN LIFE 



cans believe that it pays to have good schools of every kind 
and to give the people as much education as possible, and 
as nearly free as possible. 

234. Special Schools. There are many special schools 
that fit ])ersons for some one kind of work. For example 
there are free Normal Schools where teachers are trained ; 
agricultural schools to teach the best ways of managing a 
farm ; business schools and trade schools. Another kind of 
special schools teaches the blind, the deaf, orphans, and 
others who are unfortunate. J\Iany of this kind of schools 
are paid for by churches and by kind people who wish to 
help the unfortunate. 

235. Attendance Laws. The law usually says that chil- 
dren must begin to go to school when they are seven years 
old and go until they are fourteen. If they cannot read and 
write when they are fourteen they can be made to go until 
they are sixteen. For example, in Connecticut they must 
go to school all the time that school keeps after they are 
seven until they are fourteen. Then they must either go 
to work or stay in school until they are sixteen. The school 
authorities may examine them when they are fourteen or 
fifteen to see how much they have learned. If the school 
officers think they have not learned enough so that they 
ought to leave school they can send them back to school 
until they are sixteen. 

In Massachusetts they must read and write well enough 
to go into the fourth grade or they must stay in the day 
schools until they are sixteen. Massachusetts also says 
that they must go every year to a night school or some other 

234. What kind of special schools are common? 

235. \\'hat is the law about attending school in Con- 
necticut? In Massachusetts? In Rhode Island? 



AMERICAN LIFE 223 



school until they are twenty-one years old, if they cannot 
read and write. 

In Rhode Island the law says that no child over seven 
years of age and under thirteen shall be employed to labor 
or ehgage in business while the schools are in session, unless 
he has completed the work of the first eight grades, or been 
excused by the school committee for certain reasons that 
the law allows. If a pupil has not completed the work of 
eight grades and is not working he must go to school until 
he is fifteen. 

Of course all children may go to school before they are 
seven years old and may stay after they are fifteen, but the 
law does not make them do this. Parents may decide this 
for themselves. 

236. Public Libraries. In these libraries we find all 
kinds of good books. We may read them in the reading 
rooms or take them home and keep them two weeks without 
paying anything. The town or city, or people who wish 
to help the public, pay for them so that all may have plenty 
of good reading. 

237. Opportunity for All. Education is for all. x\meri- 
cans are glad and proud to see their children and their 
neighbors' children learn. They do all they can to help 
them. In the schools rich and poor sit side by side, study 
and play together, have the same teachers, use the same 
books, learn the same lessons. Poor boys become rich, 
happy, and useful men. Then they want to help others. 
All have a chance. Their success depends upon themselves. 
If they are idle, or lazy, or careless they will not succeed. 
If they study hard, work well, and take pains, and are 
honest, kind, and useful, they will be loved and helped by 
others and will have an opportunity to become good citi- 
zens and successful and happy men and women. America 
is the land of opportunity. 



236. Who pay for public libraries ? 

237. On wdiat does success depend? 



RELIGION. 

238. Religious Liberty. The Constitution, which is 
the highest law in the United States, says that everybody 
shall be free to have their own church and their own reli- 
gion. The law does not try to tell anybody what church 
to attend. All are free to attend church or not to attend 
church as they prefer. 

239. Church and State, In many countries of Europe 
the government helps some one church which is called the 
State Church. In America there can be no State Church. 
People are not taxed to support any church. The churche? 
are supported by the gifts of people Avho wish to help them. 
Everyone is free to give as much or as little as he wishes. 
The people believe it is a good thing to help the churches, 
so they do not make them pay taxes on their land or their 
buildings that are used for church work. 

240. Denominations. In America there are all kinds of 
churches. There is the Catholic Church. There is the 
Protestant Church, which has many denominations such as 
the Baptists, the Methodists, the Episcopalians, the Congre- 
gationalists, and others. There is the Jewish Church, and 

238. What does the Constitution say about religion? 

239. How are chur,ches supported? How do the people 
help all churches ? 

240. What kinds of churches are found in the United 
States? Does the law favor any one of them more than 
the others? 



AMERICAN LIFE 225 



churches of other reHgions that have been brought here 
from Europe and Asia. They all have the same liberty and 
the same rights so long as they do not interfere with one 
another. 

241. Church Work. The churches do a great deal to 
help people live the best lives. They teach them what is 
right and what is wrong. They conduct missions to aid 
those who are poor, sick, out of work, or in trouble. They 
help strangers and foreigners to keep out of bad company. 
They encourage people to be good and kind and true and to 
do to others what they would like to have others to do them. 

242. Sunday Schools. The Sunday schools are cared 
for by the churches and help to do the church work. They 
teach both children and grown folks what the churches 
think will help them to live religious lives and be good citi- 
zens. Americans believe it is a good thing to encourage 
all kinds of religious work that helps people live together 
more peaceably, to treat one another more kindly, and to 
be more happy. 

241. What kind of work is done for the people by the 
churches ? 

242. What do the Sunday Schools teach? 



LAW AND ORDER. 

243. To have liberty means to be free to do what is 
right. Ignorant people sometimes think that liberty means 
freedom to do anything they wish. If this were so the 
strong man could take the weak man's food, or money, or 
clothes, or home. People who did not agree would fight 
to settle all their disputes. Nobody would be safe. 

There must be laws and all must agree to obey them. 
So in every city we have many policemen to see that people 
do not disturb others, and to arrest those who break the 
laws. In the towns there are constal)les who have to kee]) 
order. 

^^'c also have soldiers in every state, but the American 
people are so well behaved that there is very little for sol- 
diers to do. Some people live all their lives without ever 
seeing soldiers in their tow^n to settle any trouble. But 
sometimes it happens that large numbers of men get into 
trouble and begin to fight or to destroy property belonging 
to some one that they think has done them a wrong. If the 
police and the constables and the sheriffs cannot make the 
crowds obey the laws and have their trouble settled by the 
courts or in some peaceful way. they may send to the Gov- 
ernor of the state for soldiers to helo them. 

243. What does liberty mean? What would happen if 
there were no law^s ? Why are policemen and constables 
needed? When are soldiers needed to keep order? 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORK. 

244. Where Can We Find Work. In our country there 
is almost always work enough for everybody. Occasionally 
we may have "hard times" for a few weeks or months. 
Then some of the factories and workshops may close for a 
while and in all kinds of business those who hire labor may 
not need so many workmen. Some people will be out of 
work. But these hard times do not come often nor last 
long and all the rest of the time those who learn how to do 
useful work will find work enough to do. If we keep our- 
selves strong and well ; if we learn what kind of work is 
needed and how to do it ; and if we are honest, faithful, and 
well behaved we shall never be long without work. 

245. The Industrial Centers. In New England and in 
the large towns and cities of the eastern part of the United 
States the main business is some kind of manufacturing. 
There is a great need for workmen who can work in all 
kinds of mills and factories and shops. 

At first one cannot earn large wages because he has to 
learn the business, but as soon as he has learned to do good 

244. What kind of people can almost always find work 
to do? 

245. What is the main business in the New England 
cities and large towns? What kind of workmen get the 
best positions? What kind of workmen are needed in the 
Southern States? Why? Where are many miners needed? 
What is meant by the saying, "There is always room at the 
top"? 



228 AMERICAN LIFE 



work he can earn good wages. He must learn to be a 
skilled workman if he would get the best positions. Un- 
skilled workmen usually learn this and want their children 
to be educated and trained to do skilled work. 

In the Southern and Western States farming and min- 
ing are now making great demand for laborers. In South 
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama. Tennessee, Texas, in 
fact all over the Southern States, the farmers are inviting 
immigrants from Europe to come and settle. They have 
millions and millions of acres of good land that cannot now 
be cultivated because there are not laborers enough. Here, 
too, the immigrants can find more healthful and pleasant 
homes than in the great cities like New York or Chicago, 
or Boston, where they often have to live closely crowded in 
unhealthful tenements. In the towns and small cities of 
these Southern States there are good opportunities for shop- 
keepers and all kinds of laborers. 

In the coal mines of Texas and Indian Territory and in 
the mining centers of the West good workmen are much 
needed. The South and W'est are but thinly settled. This 
is why they now need so many laborers. 

Since July 1, 1907, a number of United States officers 
have been busy finding out where laborers are needed in all 
parts of the country. They do this in order to help foreign- 
ers who come to this country to find work. Any immigrant 
who wants to find work can inquire of the Bureau of Immi- 
gration, Division of Information. These officers will help 
thousands of laborers to go where their work is needed 
and where they can find good homes and learn to be Ameri- 
cans. 



AMERICAN LIFE 229 



They must learn to live and do as good Americans do in 
order to get the most good out of life in America. 

It is well for all to remember that there is always "room 
at the top." This means that those who educate themselves 
to do the best work in every business and trade and occupa- 
tion will "rise in the world" and find that they can be suc- 
cessful. 



HOW TO BE USEFUL AND RESPECTED CITIZENS, 

246. In some countries men receive high honor because 
of their birtli. or class, or title. In America men count for 
what they are and \\hat they do. The son of the poorest 
laborer may rise to the highest position of honor. Abra- 
ham Lincoln, one of our greatest Presidents, came from one 
of the poorest and humblest homes in the land. So it is in 
every trade, profession, and office. The very best places 
are often filled by those who have struggled up from pov- 
erty. Honesty, kindness, education, sobriety, and hard 
work win against all difficulties. We must be useful if we 
would be successful. If we can do work or carry on busi- 
ness that helps other people other people will gladly pay us 
for our work and we shall prosper. This means that we 
must take care of our health, make ourselves strong, be clean 
and temperate in our life and habits, learn to do useful work 
and learn to aid and help others in every way. 

We wish to be respected. We must deserve the good 
will and respect of others, then we shall be respected. If we 
are selfish people will not like us. If we are not honest they 
will not trust us. If we are lazy, or careless, we shall not 
be wanted in good positions. If we are intemperate we ruin 
our health, lose the respect of our friends, and hurt our 
chances of success and happiness. If we do not respect 

246. What must we do to be successful? AMiat must we 
do to be respected? What is the golden rule of life? 



AMERICAN LIFE 231 



Others, obey the laws, and follow the customs that are right 
we cannot have the honor and respect of our friends. If we 
wish to be respected we must begin by respecting ourselves. 
We must take care of ourselves. If we are well and strong 
it is a disgrace not to earn our own living and to provide a 
home for our family and our own old age. 

We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. 
This is the golden rule of life. We should add to the wealth 
of our town and country. We should help make our town 
a good place to live in. We should help and encourage our 
neighbors. We should support good schools, help to make 
good laws, encourage the churches and every good society 
in all their work to help us and our children. 

We must love our home, our town, our state, our coun- 
try. Our government helps to educate us. It protects us 
and our homes. It does a great deal to make it possible for 
us to be successful and happy. 

We should study all public questions and be always 
ready to do what is needed to make our government better. 
If we do our duty to ourselves, our neighbors, and our 
country we shall have a good conscience, our neighbors will 
respect us, and our country will be proud of us. We, too, 
shall be proud of our part in helping make America a coun- 
try that is loved and respected by the whole world. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Acadians, the, expelled... 45 

Adams, John 70 

Alaska purchased 114 

Albion, New H 

Amendments to the Con- 
stitution 129 

Antietam 82 

Arnold, Benedict 62 

B. 

Bail 207 

Balboa 4 

Ballot, the secret 104 

Baltimore, Lord 29 

Bank question, the 72 

Blockade, the 80 

Boston evacuated 56 

Boston Massacre, the 50 

Boston settled 26 

Boxer War 100 

Braddock's defeat 45 

Burgesses, house of 23 

Bull Run, battle of 77 

Bunker Hill 55 

Burgoyne's surrender 61 

Buying and selling 222 

C. 

Cabinet, the, organized... 68 

Cabinet, the 150-155 

Cabot, John 10 

Cabot, Sebastian 10 



Cabrillo ^ 

California acquired 112 

Canals 120 

Cartier 1^ 

Cases, kinds of 199 

Caucuses ■ 1^^ 

Champlain's mistake 17 

Check, bank, form of 222 

Cibola, the seven cities of, 9 
Cities, ten largest in 

United States 121 

City charters 178 

City legislature 179 

Civil cases 214 

Civil Service 103 

Civil War, the, its cause, 75 

Columbus 3 

Commerce ^24 

Commerce, interstate 166 

Confederation, Articles of, 64-65 
Congress, the First Conti- 
nental 51 

Congress, the Second Con- 
tinental 54 

Congress, meetings of 132 

Congress, membership of. . 133 
Congress, powers of ... .142-143 
Congressional committees. 135 

Connecticut settled 26 

Constantinople, the fall of, 2 
Constitution, the, adopted, 66 
Constitution, the first writ- 
ten 26 



INDEX 



Constitution of the United 

States 127-128 

Constitutions, State 167 

Constructionists, close ... 70 
Constructionists, loose, ... 70 

Contracts 216-221 

Conventions 195 

Corporations 224 

Cornwallis, General 62 

Coronado 9 

Counting votes for Presi- 
dent 194 

Courts, Probate 215 

Courts, state 172 

Courts, United States ...157-161 

Criminal case 200 

Criminal laws 197 

Crown Point 45-46 

Cuba settled 4 

D. 

Dale, Sir Thomas 23 

Delaware, settled 31 

Delaware united with 

Pennsylvania 31 

De Narvaez 6 

De Soto 7 

Dewey made an admiral . . 97 
Divisions, natural, of the 

United States 119 

Donelson, Fort, captured.. 78 

Drake, Sir Francis 11, 21 

E. 

Education 230-237 

Education in colonial times, 37 

Elections 196 

Emancipation Proclama 
tion 84 



F. 

Ferdinand of Spain 3 

Fire department 181 

Fishermen, French 12 

French, the, in Mexico. . . . 105 

Florida discovered 5 

Florida purchased 109 

Fort Duquesne 45-46 

Franchises 185 

Franklin, Benjamin 44 

Franklin, Benjamin, under 
American biography 

which follows 196 

Freedom of speech 137 

French and Indian War 43 

G. 

Genoa, and trade with 

India 2 

Geography of America . . . 106 

Georgia settled 31 

Gettysburg 85 

Gifts from foreign coun- 
tries 144 

Government of the colonies 41 

Grant made Lieutenant- 

General 87 

Grant's advance on Rich- 
mond 89 

Grant, Ulysses S., under 
American biography fol- 
lowing 196 

Green, Nathaniel 62 

Guam 116 

H. 

Hamilton, Alexander 69 

Hawaiian Islands, annexed, 115 

Hayti, settled 4 

Health department 183 

Holy Alliance 105 



INDEX 



Homes of the colonists ... 38 

Hooker, Thomas 26 

House of Representatives, 130 
How to be useful and re- 
spected 246 

Hugenots, in Florida 15 

I. 

Impeachment 1 56 

Immigration 102 

Independence declared .... 57 

India, trade with 2 

Indians, the 33 

Indian Massacres 33 

Inter colonial wars 42 

Isabella aids Columbus... 3 

J. 

Jamestown settled 23 

Jefferson, Thomas, under 
American Biography 

which follows 196 

Joliet 18 

Jurisdiction of courts . . 206 

Jury, grand 208 

Jury, petit 209 

Jury trial 162 

K. 

Kennebec River, attempted 

settlement on 24 

King George III 62 

King George's War 42 

King William's War 42 

L. 

Lafayette, General 62 

La Salle 19 

Law and order 243 

Lee's surrender 89 

Legislatures 170 

Lexington, battle of 52 



Lincoln, Abraham, under 
American biography 

which follows 196 

London Company, the 22 

Long Island, battle of . . . . 58 

Louisiana purchased 108 

Louisburg 46 

M. 

McClellan, Geo. B 77 

McKinley, William, under 
American biography 

which follows 196 

Manufactures 123 

Manila Bay, battle of 97 

Marco Polo 1 

Marquette IS 

Maryland settled 29 

Mayor, his duties 180 

Menendez 15 

Merrimac and Monitor .... SI 

Mesilla Valley 113 

Mines, gold and silver ... 92 
Mississippi River discov- 
ered 7 

Monroe Doctrine 105 

Montreal, named 14 

Mountains of the United 

States 119 

Municipal ownership 186 

^. 

Naturalization 226-228 

Navy, the new 95 

New Jersey settled 31 

New Orleans captured .... 79 

New York settled 28 

Niagara 45-46 

North Carolina settled .... 31 

Note, form of 222 



INDEX 



0. 

Occupations of Colonists, 34 

Officers of the state 171 

Officers, town 173 

Ogelthorpe, George 31 

Ohio Company 43 

Opportunities for work. .244-245 

Oregon treaty Ill 

P. 

Pacific Ocean discovered.. 4 

Panama Canal 106 

Parties, history of 188 

Party organizations 190 

Parties, principles of 189 

Parties, origin of 187 

Peninsular Campaign .... 82 

Penn, William 30 

Pennsylvania settled 30 

Philippine Insurrection . . 99 

Philippine Islands acquired, 116 

Pilgrims, the 2Z 

Pitt, William 46 

Plymouth Company, the . . 22 

Plymouth settled 2.5 

Police department 182 

Ponce de Leon 5 

Porto Kico settled 4 

Port Royal 16 

President, duties of 146 

President, qualifications 

for 147 

Presidential campaigns . . 192 

Presidential electors 193 

Presidential nominations. . 191 

Probate courts 215 

Productions 122 

Providence settled 27 

Punishment of Congress- 
men 136 

Puritans, the 26 



Q. 

Quakers, the 30 

Quebec captured 46 

Quebec settled 16 

Queen Anne's War 42 

R. 

Railroad building 93 

Raleigh, Sir Walter 21 

Receipt, form of 225 

Reconstruction 91 

Religion 238-242 

Religion in Colonial times, 36 

Riboult, Jean 15 

Review, final, of the Union 

Army 90 

Revolutionary War, the, 

its causes 50 

S. 

Salaries of President and 

Vice-President 149 

Salaries of Congressmen.. 138 

San Salvador 3 

Santiago, battle of 98 

Savings banks 223 

School department 184 

Secession of Southern 

States 75, 76 

Senate of the United States 131 

Separatists, the 25 

Sherman's march to the 

sea 88 

Sheriff 176 

Slavery introduced 35 

Slavery question, the .... 71 

Smith, John 23 

Social customs of the col- 
onists 39 

South Carolina settled .... 31 

Spanish War 96 



INDEX 



Stamp Act, the 50 

Starving Time, the 23 

State, divisions of 168 

State and Nation 163-165 

States' rights 73 

St. Augustine settled 20 

Steel making 94 

Sumpter, Fort, captured.. 75 

T. 

Tea Party, the Boston .... 50 
Territory, original of the 

United States 107 

Texas annexed 110 

Ticonderoga 46 

Time belts 125 

Toleration act. the 29 

Town meeting 174 

Travel in Colonial times.. 40 

Treaty of 1763 48 

Treaty of 1783 63 

Treaty of 1898 98 

Trenton, battle of ... . 60 

Trial of a criminal case. . 

201-205, 210-213 

Tutuila 117 



r. 

Union of colonies attempt- 
ed 44 

Useful facts 225 

V. 

Vacancy, in the office of 
President 148 

Venezuelan boundary dis- 
pute 105 

Venice, and trade with In- 
dia 2 

Verrazano 13 

Veto, the President's 140-141 

Vicksburg 86 

Voters, who are 169 

W. 

Wake Island 116 

Washington, George 43, 67 

Washington, George, under 
American biography 

which follows 196 

Whiskey Rebellion, the . . 70 

Williams, Roger 27 

Y. 
Yeardley, Governor 23 



DEC 7 i308 



